A Voice in the Dark
by GenericUser
Summary: An AU retelling of Persona 3. For ten years, Minato has listened to the voice in his head, a voice which leads him back to the city he lived in ten years ago, and to a new power. But what does it mean when that power is 'wilder than expected?
1. Prologue: An Intervention

_A knock at the door disturbed the seated man. "Come in," he said. "The door's unlocked."_

_A hooded man entered, and the seated man frowned, putting down his book. "What are you doing here?"_

_The newcomer gave an unnerving smile. "I just wanted to see what was going on with you, old friend."_

"_We have never been friends." Annoyance crept into his voice, and he stood up. "Why are you really here?"_

_The smile faded. "If you're going to be so serious, I'll tell you now. I trust that you are aware of what's been going on?"_

"_Yes…" He pursed his lips. Where was he going with this?_

"_You see, I know a way that we could stop it. I would only need your cooperation…"_

"_Forget it. There is no way that I would ever go along with any one of your plans."_

_The smile returned. "Whoever said it was my plan? I'm just the messenger."_

_A pause filled the air._

"_Fine. I'll listen to what you have to say."_

* * *

Status: Primary power offline. Secondary power offline. Emergency power critical. Chassis stability critical. Ammunition supply low. Temperature critical.

Enemy stability is at low level. Enemy remains active. Initiate 'Destroy' protocol? Y/N

'Destroy' protocol initiated. ERROR Source: evoker systems critical malfunction. 'Destroy' protocol could not be engaged. Attempt reboot? Y/N

Reboot not attempted. Attempt 'Emergency Seal' protocol?

'Emergency Seal' protocol initiated. Scanning area for viable hosts…

One (1) viable host found. Host chosen. Starting sealing process.

10% complete. 20% complete. 30% complete. ERROR Source: unidentified outside interference. 'Emergency Seal' protocol could not be completed. Reboot? Y/N

Reboot attempted. 'Emergency Seal' protocol initiated. Scanning area for viable hosts…

One (1) viable host found. Host chosen. ERROR Source: Host signature differs from previous host signature. Continue? Y/N

Continuation chosen. Starting sealing process. 10% complete…

100% complete. ERROR Source: unidentified outside interference. Sealing process may have been compromised. Reattempt sealing? Y/N

Reattempt initiated. ERROR Source: insufficient power supply. WARNING power level insufficient to continue operations. Initiating emergency shutdown.

* * *

"_Well, that could have gone better."_

"_I know. That is why we did plan for this course of events. Besides, this should be easy to account for."_

"_I guess it's up to him for now. How long until we're needed?"_

"_Ten years. Now, to wait."_

* * *

The small, blue-haired child opened his eyes.

Where was he?

He was lying in a white bed, staring up at a white ceiling. Old men in white coats hurried around him. Who were they?

One of them noticed him. "Finally, you're awake. How are you?"

The child didn't respond.

The man looked concerned. "Look… what do you remember?"

Again the child was silent.

The man looked away. "I don't want to be the one telling you this, but… your parents didn't make it."

His parents were dead?

Realisation dawned on the boy. He was alone.

_No. You are not alone._

The boy gave a small yelp of surprise. Where had the voice come from?

_Don't worry. They can't hear me._

Who are you?

_My name is Lyra. I'll always be here with you._

Someone would always be there with him.

The boy didn't feel so alone anymore.


	2. Chapter 1: Contract

"Arisato, do you know why you're here today?"

I looked around the principal's drab office. It was the same as every time I'd been here before. The same certificates lined the same dull walls. The same dusty shelves were lined with the same dusty books. The same fat principal stared at me with the same stern glare.

"I can guess it's for one of two things, but I'm not sure for which one."

"You're here for both."

I sighed. "You've talked to my psychologist. You know Lyra told me to do it."

The principal buried his face into his hands. "I know, even though, frankly, I don't believe you have a voice in your head. But surely you can resist the urge to do whatever it tells you?"

"I thought it would be more interesting if I did what she said."

"You cannot use 'I thought it would be interesting' as an excuse for theft and arson."

I smiled. "It's the excuse you're going to get."

The principal was on the verge of tearing his hair out. "Why, Minato, are you doing these things? You're one of the best students academically in the school. Why do you insist on stealing and burning things? You could be a shining example of the model student. Why don't you take that opportunity?"

"I don't feel like it."

The principal's nails dug into his scalp. It was always fun to watch him squirm. "I thought you would say that. If you're not going to change, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the school."

"Fine by me." More time to do stuff I wanted.

As I stood to leave the office for the last time, the principal's secretary rushed in. "Sir, a school just called about… oh, Minato-kun. A school called about you. They want to offer you a full scholarship! Isn't that great?"

The principal cleared his throat. "Which school called, and why do they want to offer him a scholarship?"

"Gekkoukan High, in Iwatodai City. They said that they were impressed by your academic record, and hoped to provide an environment where you could flourish. What do you say?"

I was about to shrug the offer off, when the principal spoke up. "Listen, boy. That school is one of the best in the country. If you do well there, you'll be set for life. You do not know how hard it is to get a place there. You are going to go there, and you are going to do well."

That settled it. If the principal wanted me to go, then I wouldn't. Just to see his reaction.

_You know, you shouldn't waste an opportunity like this._

Wait, Lyra wanted to make a point? She'd spent most of the last ten years telling me to steal and break and burn shit. Now she wanted me to do something constructive?

_Remember, I've always had your interests at heart. I'm in your head; I know half the time you only listen to me because you have nothing else to do. Obviously, the bigger city means more stuff to do. Who knows what great adventures wait for you there? And if you still get bored, the bigger city means more stuff to steal and break and burn._

Well, she did have a point. "I'll take their offer. I'm going back to the dorms to pack."

* * *

"The next stop is Iwatodai."

I looked up at the clock. The train had been delayed, and it was nearly midnight. From the map I'd looked at earlier, I guessed I wouldn't be at my dorm until one o'clock. And the term began tomorrow. That was great.

I sighed, and put on my headphones on. The journey had been long enough to listen to my entire music library, but with an hour to go, I needed something to occupy my mind.

Just as the music began, the train stopped. "Iwatodai. This is the last train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure."

I took my bag and began the trek to the dorm. Hey, this was a great song!

/_Sacred is the… gift that they have, without knoKZCLK/_

I frowned. My iPhone had just gone dead. When I'd rebooted my music up, I'd seen that it still had well over half its charge left. Sighing, I made a mental note to get it fixed, and put my headphones away again.

Then I noticed that the night sky was green, and that the moon was about four times larger than usual. Okay, so this wasn't normal.

Seriously, what was going on?

_You see, I told you that interesting things would happen here. Isn't this exciting?_

I let out a deep sigh and decided to ignore Lyra, instead continuing to walk to the dorm. I'd ask about this after getting some sleep.

The hour-long walk was uneventful, if I ignored the occasional dark coffin propped in the streets and complete lack of working streetlights. Finally, I reached the address mentioned in the admission pamphlet. The hall I entered was dark, with only the front desk lit up by the same ominous green as the outside sky. A boy in striped pyjamas was standing there.

"Welcome. You're late," he said. "I've been waiting for a long time."

"Who are you?"

The boy smiled. "That doesn't matter. If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract. There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

On the paper now in front of him, one line was written: '_I chooseth this fate of my own free will.' _

Questions rose in my mind. Who is this kid? Why do I have to sign this? Is anyone else here? Seriously, what's up with everything outside?

_Just sign it. Right now, you want sleep, and also you want an interesting life. This can be your path to both._

Well, she had a point again. I grabbed a pen on the desk and scrawled my signature on the dotted line.

The boy smiled again. "Very well. You know, time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away. And so it begins..."

I briefly pondered the significance of the boy's words, but before I could say anything, the boy seemed to dissolve into the darkness. Not weird at all, no way.

Then the rest of the lights came on (still the same odd greenish colour), to reveal a TV, a set of sofas, a stairway and a figure at the foot of them. "Who's there?" it asked. So there were other people here, and this one was a guy!

I took a good look at the figure. Tall and skinny, he wore a blue shirt with black jeans and a black jacket, topping his short dark hair off with a baseball cap. He clutched a baseball bat with both his hands, and strapped to his leg was what appeared to be a gun.

I felt a sinking feeling that I was about to get the shit beaten out of me.

Just as I was about to get physically assaulted, another figure appeared at the top of the stairs. 'Iori, wait!' The boy in front of me stopped in his tracks.

Right then, the lighting in the room turned from green to normal. The boy seemed to relax slightly, while the newcomer glided down the stairs.

Wow, she was beautiful. Long red hair, ruffled white shirt with a red cravat, pleated black skirt, knee-high heeled boots… I tried to stay focused.

The boy visibly deferred to her as she passed. She was clearly the leader here.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

"Who's he?" The capped boy asked. Hey, I'm right here. Why don't you just ask me?

"He's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll be moved to another dorm soon."

"Should he be here?"

"We'll see." She turned to face me directly. "This is Junpei Iori. He'll be a second year when term starts, like you."

Junpei scratched his head. "Hey… sorry about that. I thought you were a burglar, that's all. Yeah…" His voice trailed off.

I was content to ignore him and let him feel guilty, to extort things out of him later, but the voice interrupted again. _Don't be so quick to judge. There is no point in burning an unbuilt bridge._

She had never lectured me before. Why was she doing this now?

_Just saying, you should give this place a chance, before you start burning everything down._

I sighed again (I did that a lot). I knew that what she said made sense, and I was too tired to argue any more.

"It's no problem. If I heard someone come into my house in the dead of night, I'd be on his face in a second. No harm done."

Junpei's eyes widened. "Really? Wow, I was really expecting to get chewed out there. You're a good guy. I like you already." He flashed a grin. "As Mitsuru said, my name's Junpei Iori. What's yours?"

"Name's Minato Arisato. What's with the gun?"

"That?" His smile became sheepish. "It's just one of those starting guns for runners. See," he fired a bang up into the air, "just blanks. Good for scaring intruders, nothing else."

Mitsuru cleared her throat in disapproval. "Now is not the time for loud noises. I'm sure you both need rest. Arisato, your room is on the second floor, at the end of the corridor. Iori will show you the way." She glided back up the stairs.

As we began walking, Junpei began speaking again. "Yeah, Mitsuru's a bit of a stickler on formalities, but she's a warm enough person when you know her. Then again, if you're moving out anyway, that probably won't happen… I'm rambling now. I should stop. Do you have any questions?"

I asked the first one that came into my head. "What was with the weird kid by the reception?"

Surprise appeared on Junpei's face. "What kid?"

I slapped myself in the face. "Forget I said anything. I need sleep." I hear voices in my head already. Why shouldn't I see weird kids as well? Another step on the road to insanity.

"Sure. Everyone needs rest, especially with school starting tomorrow!" Junpei immediately turned his face downwards in an overly dramatic fashion. "Why… why… why… why must the education system be so cruel?!"

I smiled. Junpei seemed like a nice guy. Everyone needed plucky comic relief.

I turned to go into my room, but Junpei, having quickly returned to perkiness, tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, before you go to sleep, I just need to ask: was everything alright on the way to here from the station?"

"If a green sky, giant moon and roads of coffins means 'normal', then yes." Not bothering to look for a reaction, I closed the door behind me, locked it and collapsed onto the bed.

The boy had been a hallucination, probably the moon and sky as well. Yep, definitely slowly going insane.

I fell asleep in my clothes. It had been a long day.


	3. Chapter 2: Integration

I dreamt that I was playing Diplomacy with Cthulhu. All the other players had long been reduced to spectators, and I was just about to take his supply centre in Fomalhaut, when _Knock Knock Knock._

I opened my bleary eyes and barely registered a voice. "Hey, it's Junpei! Did you sleep well? Mitsuru asked me to take you to school. You ready?"

"God no. I only woke up when you knocked the door."

"That's great, because we have to take the train, and the last one that will get us there on time leaves in ten minutes!"

"Screw it. I'm going back to sleep."

_You're really going to fight everything, aren't you?_

It's how I am now. You made me this way.

_I suppose that I did instil your apathy towards the system. But now, I believe it is in your best interests to follow the rules, at least for a while._

Why are you doing this now?

_I have my reasons. Trust me. If nothing interesting happens in the next three days, I'll accept that to satisfy your interests, I'll have to go back to telling you to burn things. You only have to work with the system for those three days. Is that acceptable?_

…Fine. Three days.

I turned back to reality, and noticed Junpei was still trying to convince me to leave. I picked out the words 'Mitsuru', 'Execute' and 'Extreme Pain'.

Sighing, I straightened up my clothes and opened the door. Junpei looked visibly relieved. "Phew. I wasn't sure what I'd have done if you didn't come. We have…" he looked down at his watch, and his eyes opened. "Seven minutes? We have to run. Right now." He took off, and I followed.

A wild dash through the streets of Iwatodai later, we barely made it onto the train. Junpei let out a deep breath of relief. "That was too close…"

"Eh. Not much harder than running from police."

Junpei looked at me skeptically. "Hold on. Why have you ever needed to run from the cops?"

I facepalmed. How had I let that slip out of my mouth? "You don't know? You haven't seen any of my records or anything?"

"Nope. Only the teachers have that information. Well, what have you done?"

I sighed. "If you really want to know, since I was six, I have personally caused over forty million yen of damage to this country's economy, partially through theft, but mostly through fire damage."

Junpei's jaw dropped. "No way. Seriously, who invited you to my school? And more importantly, why?"

"I don't know who invited me. I assumed it was the board or something. As to why I did it, it was mostly because a voice in my head told me to. I didn't mention that, did I?"

Junpei seemed to be briefly lost for words. "You hear voices?"

"Yep. Also since I was six. That was why I started."

"What's it like?" He seemed genuinely curious.

I shrugged. "It's difficult to describe. You start by thinking you're insane, then you think everyone else's insane, then you just get used to it. Honestly, I'm surprised you asked about it. Everyone else just tends to back away slowly when they hear about it." Yep, some of those who had overheard were moving away.

"Dude, you serious? I think it's really sick!" What. "I mean, it's almost like a superpower. Always having someone on hand, to whisper elder knowledge into your mind… actually, if it tells you to burn things, it wouldn't be like that at all, would it? Still, I think it's sweet. And hey, you haven't burnt anything here yet, so that's cool."

To be honest, it felt good to not have someone run away when they learnt of my problems. Then again, I had never openly told anyone else before. I wasn't sure why I'd told Junpei, but it felt good regardless.

"Hey, Minato…" Junpei leant over to me. "About last night. Don't tell anyone about what happened, alright?"

"About the moon and sky? That was real?"

"Yep. You know it's not normal, and if you told anyone, it would just freak them out. So don't."

"Alright. Can you tell me about it, though?"

Junpei tugged at his collar. "Eh… I'd want to, but I don't think I can. Ask Mitsuru, alright?"

I nodded. Conversation changed to more mundane things. Where I'd come from (outskirts of Tokyo). What school had been like there (dull as shit). How many schools I'd been expelled from (seven). Why I'd been expelled from the last one (broke into the computer suites, stole two brand-new PCs and torched the place). Why I hadn't been arrested ('psychological factors' was a surprisingly durable excuse).

The train started turning, and Junpei perked up. "Check this out. You get a great view of the school from here."

I looked out of the window, and saw an island. "Where's the school on the island?"

"It is the island."

My jaw dropped. "Really? It's that large?"

Junpei shrugged. "Well, maybe it's not all the island, but definitely most of it. The island's man made, you know. Some students say that there are tunnels under the school leading to the depths of the earth. What do you think?"

The rumour was clearly shit, but I was still stunned by the scale of the school. It was probably as big as my last five, all put together. "Wow…" I couldn't say anymore.

_This whole school business isn't so bad, is it?_

This place might just prove interesting enough.

* * *

"You're okay from here, right?"

The terminal had been right outside the school. We quickly checked our classroom assignments – both in 2-F, yeah, high-five – and Junpei had told me to introduce myself to the homeroom teacher in the faculty office. I waved him off.

Soon, I found myself standing in front of a brown-haired, brown-jacketed female teacher. "Are you the new student? 11th grade, correct?"

I nodded. She began thumbing through my file. "Sorry, I haven't had the time to read this. Let's see… sterling academic record… oh." She frowned. "Theft… expulsions… arson? Psychological issues… and in 1999, your parents… oh."

She turned to look at me. "Sorry. I can't imagine what life's been like for you. I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach composition. Welcome to our school."

She stuck out her hand, likely from unneeded pity, but I shook it anyway. Work with the system, Minato. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled. "Have you seen the classroom assignments? You're in 2-F, my class. But first, the welcome ceremony's starting. We should go to the auditorium. I'll show you the way."

* * *

I slept straight through the ceremony. Junpei later told me that I hadn't missed much.

* * *

After I introduced myself to the class (not mentioning the voice or the arson or anything), lessons that day were dull refreshers, which meant I would have slept through them, except…

_Obey the system. Obey the system. Obey the system._

She droned on and on, so I settled for staring out of the window. And then, the final bell rang.

"Hey! You're the transfer student, right?" someone called from behind me. I turned to see a pretty brunette in a pink cardigan and a really, really short skirt. How lax was the uniform here?

Wait, she was still in front of me. "Hey. Who are you?"

She smiled. "My name's Yukari Takeba. Nice to meet you. I've been living in Iwatodai for all my life, so if you need any help, just ask, okay?"

"Sure." I really wasn't sure what to say, but then Junpei swept in to stop the awkwardness and save the day.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Yuka-tan, ready to sink her teeth into another unsuspecting victim. What will happen? Will he escape her clutches? Or will the pink sniper bind another heart to her forever?"

"W-what?" Yukari blushed. She was cute when flustered. "Sh-shut up, Stupei! You know I was just being friendly, that's all!"

"She's on the retreat. She knows she's losing this battle. But is the war over?" God, watching Junpei press all of her pressure points was hilarious.

Junpei then turned to me. "Hey, you haven't told anyone about last night, have you?"

Yukari perked up. "What happened last night?"

I decided to have some fun. "Not much. I arrived at the dorm late, and Junpei thought I was an intruder, and tried to beat me up with a baseball bat, and failed so badly. It was amazing."

Yukari started guffawing, and Junpei's eyes widened, before falling down, clutching his heart in mock agony. "Nooo! Why did you have to unveil the terrible truth? Now you have spoken those unspeakable words, I know not what hurts more: my pride, or my face from last night. How will I ever live this one out?"

Yukari burst into laughter, and I smiled. Junpei was taking it way better than I thought he would. Some strangers around us began laughing as well.

Junpei climbed back to his feet, pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead. "Well, now everyone knows. If anyone wants me, I'll be at baseball club, trying not to die in a hole from the shame."

Junpei left, and Yukari had just about recovered her speech. "Junpei… he's the class clown, but he's good enough that everyone likes him. Your dorm's going to be great." Her face fell slightly. "Everyone in my dorm just spends all their time studying… it's really dull."

_Make a bridge. Don't burn it yet._

You really like that metaphor, don't you?

_It's a good metaphor._

"If you're not busy, do you want to do something now?"

Yukari's face lit up, then fell again. "I'd love to, but I have to do some things for archery club today. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'll make some time."

"Great! So it's a date!" She left before I could say anything.

Around me, people were already whispering.

"He got right in there, didn't he?"

"People are going to be so jealous…"

I was fine with their whispers. Chances were she would run away when she found out about my past. With nothing else to do, I decided to walk back to the dorm.

Just as I arrived, I caught sight of a tall, silver-haired boy in a red waistcoat leaving the dorm. He ran off without seeing me.

When I entered, Mitsuru was seated on one of the sofas. "Who was that, just leaving?" I asked.

She looked up, slightly surprised. "Him? Oh, that would be Akihiko Sanada. He's a senior, like I am. You don't need to worry about him. How was your first day at your new school?"

I shrugged. "It was okay. I mean, I still need to get used to it, but I already quite like the environment there." Yep. Grovelling to the system.

She smiled. "Très bien." Yay for gratuitous foreign languages. "Now, Arisato. I'm sure you're tired; you did have a late night. Why don't you go to bed early?"

I tried to vocalise a response, but she looked straight at me with her piercing, reddish-brown eyes, and anything I tried to say just melted in my throat. I meekly nodded and climbed up to my room.

Since I didn't want to sleep quite yet, I dug out my laptop and booted up Magic Online for a few hours, before turning in.

* * *

Junpei woke me up again, which meant we had to run for the last train again. Great. We made small talk, which eventually turned to other people in the class.

"So, you and Yukari-san, amirite?"

"I don't see your point, Junpei."

Junpei slouched down, somewhat deflated. "Come on, dude. She's like, the most popular girl in the year. Don't you see how hot she is?"

I shrugged. "She's not bad, but she's not Mitsuru." That drew a whistle from Junpei. I continued. "Anyway, even if it did start up, I doubt it would last. Voices and shit."

A devious smile crept across Junpei's face. "Well, a little birdie told me that you two have already arranged your first date tonight. You can't hide the truth from Junpei Iori, Ace Detective!"

I facepalmed. "She's the one who claimed it was a date. I was just trying to be friendly."

"Are you saying that if she's all over you, that you're going to turn her down?"

"God no. I'm still a human." That drew a high five.

* * *

Again, I would have slept through lessons had Lyra not been shouting at me all the time, which meant I was actually paying attention for once, so I bailed Junpei out of a question where he'd switched off. All of it was still boring, though.

Finally, school ended, and Yukari walked up to me. "Ready to go?" she asked. "I know a great coffee shop."

"Sounds good. Let's go." I ignored the whispers rising up again.

She took me to a place called Café Chagall. Apparently, their signature 'pheromone coffee' had the power to make people more charming. I did see people looking at me, but I felt that was more because of Yukari's presence than the coffee.

"So, how was archery club?" I asked, looking to break the ice.

"Huh? Oh, it was okay. Some of our best shooters left last year, and everyone else is a bit out of practice, so there's work to be done, but I think the team could be good this year." She sipped her coffee. Latte. Why did anyone drink latte? Espresso was so much better.

_Pay attention to her and stop monologuing._

She started talking again? "…why don't you join a club? I mean, the school doesn't let new students join straight away, but I'm sure you'll do well. What's your favourite sport?"

I shrugged. "I don't do sport. The closest thing I do is play Magic: The Gathering."

She blinked a few times in surprise. "Really? And here I had you pegged as the deep, athletic type." She took another sip of coffee. "By the way… are the rumours about you true?"

I looked into her eyes. "What rumours?"

She flinched slightly, and broke from my gaze. "It's just… someone said they saw your record lying on Toriumi's desk, and they said it was filled with thefts and things. That can't be true, can it?"

Two days for it all to come out. That was a new record. I sighed. "It is true. I'm not going to deny it. Now, what does that matter to you?"

She paused briefly. "Honestly, not much." Wait, what? How was everyone here so open? "I mean, I don't think you should use the past to judge people. Sometimes, what they did wasn't their fault or anything. I think you should have time to make a name for yourself before anyone judges you completely."

"That's remarkably noble of you."

She smiled. "Thanks. It's just, my past wasn't especially warm either. I mean, it wasn't like yours or anything, it was… sorry, I shouldn't trouble you with my past. Let's talk about something else." So that was a sensitive issue for her.

We continued chatting until it began to get dark. Yukari helped me back to the dorm (I know I would have got lost otherwise), then we said goodbye.

Junpei was already back, and he was talking to an older, bespectacled man with a brown mullet, with a black turtleneck under a brown jacket.

"Hey, look who's back!" Junpei spoke up. "How was your date?"

"It wasn't a date, but I found out that rumours about me are already flying about."

"You mean about how you and Yukari are already a couple?"

"No, about how I go crazy and steal and burn shit." That drew an awkward silence.

The older man cleared his throat. "So, this is our new guest. Good evening. I'm Shuji Ikutsuki, the Chairman of the Board for your school, and the one who issued your invitation. 'Ikutsuki'… hard to say, isn't it?"

I blinked. Was this meant to be a joke? He continued.

"Anyway, I came here to check if you were settling in properly. Some members of the board were worried about you, with your previous record and all, so I came to make sure everything was okay. Everyone's been treating you well? Any big issues?"

"Everything's fine. I haven't felt the urge to burn anything yet."

The chairman smiled. "Good, good. I apologize for the confusion about your accommodation. However, it may be some time before you receive your correct room assignment."

"That's fine. I'm beginning to like it here."

"Excellent. I hope you'll have a successful school year. Now then, if you'll excuse me, but you must be tired – the first few days are always the worst. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'the early bird gets the bookworm'!" Oh God no. It burns.

_I've heard jokes that are so much worse. Just saying. Hey, what do you get when you cross two slices of bread and a fishman?_

I don't want to know.

Ikutsuki had left, and Junpei spoke up again. "Don't worry. After twenty or so, they stop hurting."

"Why has no-one made him stop? That 'joke' was an aberration! You know what? Don't answer that. I'm going to sleep. Just listening to that agony drained me completely."

Junpei made some noise. I ignored it. I went straight to my room, locked the door, collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man."

Okay… so this is weird.

I was in a large blue room, seated at a table, with an old man seated opposite me, and a young blonde woman by his side. The back wall of the room was made of some kind of wire mesh, showing the room was moving upwards, like an elevator. A large clock hung on that wall, its hands spinning continuously.

"My name is Igor…" the old man said. He wore a black suit, but his swollen, bloodshot eyes and long nose were more noteworthy. And by 'long', I mean that it stuck out of his face by a good foot.

"And I am Elizabeth," the woman added. She was dressed all in blue, like an airline stewardess. She watched me with a pair of gleaming yellow eyes. "We are delighted to meet your acquaintance."

I was confused. "Where am I?"

Igor chuckled. "You are in the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… I have summoned you here from your dreams."

I still didn't get it. Igor's smile widened. "Do not worry. You will understand soon enough.

"Now, only those who have signed a contract may enter here. Do you remember?" The sheet of paper appeared in front of me. Of course I remember it. That was the night everything went crazy.

Igor seemed to sense this, and continued. "Henceforth, you will be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You will be destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require our help to do so. I only ask one thing: that you abide by the contract you have signed. Is that alright?"

I nodded. "I have some other questions…"

"Hush. Do not worry. There will be plenty of time for questions later. For now, hold onto this." He handed over a triangular blue key.

"What is this?"

"This is the velvet key. With it, you shall forever be welcome here, until your contract is fulfilled. Now, we shall meet again soon. Until then, farewell…"

I tried to speak, but something sucked me backwards, out of the elevator, and then I was falling, endlessly falling…

I woke up with a jolt. That had to have been a dream, right?

_Nope. Look what's in your hand._

A triangular blue key…

Shit. That was real? It couldn't be real, though. It was just a dream…

_Before you panic excessively, remember you have one more day before we agreed that you could go burn things. If you want to go crazy, wait until then._

Good. Good idea, Lyra. One more day, then go crazy. Put down the key, then go back to sleep.

* * *

Going back to sleep had just made me dream of that room again, and I was mostly out of it the next day. While I had mostly recovered from the shock of the moment, I still spent all of my time wondering how that key had become real. And what did Igor mean by 'between dream and reality'? After deep thought, I concluded that my grip on reality was becoming more and more tenuous.

My mood must have been obvious, because Junpei and Yukari attempted to ask what was up. I brushed them off with some excuses about nightmares and voices. It was close enough to the truth.

I left immediately after the bell, ignoring the whispers around me. Honestly, with everything beginning to seem like (what I imagined was) a giant acid trip, burning things would be a welcome release.

_Are you just going to give up?_

Yes. Yes I am.

_Fine. Just wait until the morning to start burning things. It'll be more fun that way._

Yes. Yes it will.

I went straight to bed when I got back to the dorm.

* * *

I was playing Diplomacy with Cthulhu again when _Crash._

A sharp judder shook the entire dorm.

Half-dazed, I stumbled to my feet. Everything was green, like it had been the night I'd arrived.

Someone slammed into the door. "Minato, wake up!" It was Junpei. "I'm coming in!"

Unfortunately for him, I'd still locked the door last night. Thus, when I opened the door, Junpei was in the middle of trying to barge it down, resulting in him falling on his face. "Junpei, what's happening?"

He immediately bounced back up. "No time to explain. Follow me, and take this." He handed me a shortsword.

Wait. This wasn't fake. It was real, as in sharp, stabby, and more than capable of cutting someone's arm off. I seriously questioned Junpei's judgement in giving me such an object.

_Focus on the issues at hand, Minato._

To emphasise the point, the dorm shook again.

"Just come with me!" Junpei shouted. He ran down the stairs; I didn't really have any choice but to follow.

We were running through the lounge when Junpei stopped abruptly, putting a finger to his ear. "Mitsuru?" Some sort of earpiece. "What do you mean, there's more than one? Well, shit." Something crashed onto the back door of the dorm.

"Junpei, what the hell is going on?"

Junpei was uttering more swears under his breath. "We're going to have to go to the roof. Follow me." He dragged me up the stairs, ignoring my question, all the while hearing crashes from below and feeling the dorm shake.

Finally, we reached the roof. Junpei quickly locked the door behind him, and I took the opportunity to speak again. "Seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"Well… oh, SHIT." Junpei's gaze was firmly fixed on something behind me. I turned, and saw several dark, ichorous hands clutching the edge of the roof. A blue mask poked up, clutched by another hand.

Then more hands appeared, each clutching a blade as long as the one in my hand.

Slowly but surely, a mangled horror of limbs climbed onto the roof.

Junpei grabbed my collar and pulled me back. "These things are called shadows. I'll explain later." He pulled out the starting pistol from his pocket and pressed it to his head. Wait, what? Even though it was a fake, pretending to shoot yourself seemed like it could be psychologically damaging.

"Right now, though," Junpei continued, "just stay back, and let me take care of thi- _urk_" he uttered, as the shadow – as Junpei had called it – seemed to emit a blast of wind that knocked him over. His starting pistol landed by my feet.

Still clueless as to what was going on, I stared blankly at the shadow for a few seconds, dimly aware that it could probably rip me into shreds in a heartbeat.

"Go on…" I looked in the direction of the new voice. It was that boy in the pyjamas, from before. "Don't worry…" With his fingers, he mimed a gun pressed against his head. Just like what Junpei had been doing.

I picked up the gun. It wasn't real. Shooting myself wouldn't do anything, would it? I'd be torn apart by this mass of limbs either way.

I was going to die, wasn't I?

I froze to the ground in fear. My heart raced, and I felt sweat bead down my face as the thing turned to look at me.

_The boy's right. Don't worry. What do you have to lose?_

She was right. If I did nothing, I would be guaranteed to die. Maybe shooting myself with a fake gun might actually do something.

I steadied my breathing, pressed the gun to my temple and prepared to pull the trigger.

_Follow what I say. Per…_

"Per…"

…_so…_

"…so…"

…_na._

"…na."

I pulled the trigger, and everything turned to light.


	4. Chapter 3: Awakening

As the light began to fade, everything was blue. Shards of what looked like glass flew all around me, and I had no idea what was going on.

From nowhere, I heard a thin, screechy voice behind me.

**Thou Art I**

I turned to see the glassy fragments coalescing. As each piece joined, the resulting shape looked more and more like a human figure.

**And I Am Thou**

The blue faded, and the figure began to take further form. Tall, thin, it wore a blotched black and white tunic and leggings, and sported a black hat with a white feather.

**From the Sea of Thy Soul, I Cometh**

I still had no idea what was going on. Everything was so surreal – the greenness, the shaking, the shadow, and now this – I fully expected that this was all a dream, and that I would wake up tomorrow and go crazy.

The last pieces of glass formed into a wooden flute in the figure's hand.

**I Am the Pied Piper, Leader of the Dance**

The 'Pied Piper' let out a shrill laugh.

Wake up, Minato. This is all absurd.

_No, Minato. This isn't a dream, and this is real._

Almost as if emphasising Lyra's point, pain shot through my entire body. Every nerve, every muscle, every fibre in my body felt like it was being torn to pieces, almost as if my skin was falling off, revealing only dead flesh underneath.

The Pied Piper also gave out a shriek of pain, and I looked up. A grisly spectacle waited.

While it felt like my skin was falling off, his skin actually was falling off. Yep, the flesh underneath was corroded and rotten as well.

Another convulsion, and his face wasted away into a bleached skull.

Another convulsion, and a pair of misshapen, bloodied wings burst out from his back.

Another convulsion, and the flute in his hand turned into a rusted, bloodstained trumpet.

Finally, the spasms ceased, and the pain subsided to a dull numbness at the back of my head. What had been the Pied Piper took to the air on its newfound wings. It was a perfect mockery of a majestic angel.

It stared at the mass of limbs with its empty eyes. The mask stared back.

For a few seconds, all was still.

Suddenly the shadow pounced.

With one swift motion, the not-angel pulled its trumpet to its lips and blew.

The note was deafening. 'Note' probably wasn't the right word to describe it. It was more like a sonic boom, or a compressed explosion.

The shockwave smashed into the shadow, breaking all of its momentum and shunting it backwards. The shadow desperately sought any purchase it could against the onslaught, digging its knives into the roof or grasping for tiny nooks.

The trumpeter kept blowing harder and harder.

The shadow began shaking violently, as if resonating with the force. Mask, arms, knives, all jerked and juddered, like a sapling about to be uprooted in a hurricane.

For several more seconds, the trumpeter kept blowing.

Then the shadow's body couldn't take anymore strain, and it exploded in a shower of ichor, mask bursting into countless shards.

Finally the trumpet stopped. Its player fell to the ground, instrument limply by its side. In another flash of light, it transformed back into the Pied Piper.

A heavy wave of fatigue washed over me. I felt tired, more tired than I'd ever felt before. I didn't know why, but all I wanted to do was to curl up and sleep.

I heard… something? I wasn't sure. I looked up to see a pile of ichor forming from the remains of the shadow. There was a sense of malice in its eyes.

_You have to destroy it._

Just give me a moment.

_You don't have a moment. It will kill you if it has the opportunity._

Fine. I willed my legs to move.

Nothing happened.

I tried again, and nothing happened.

I sighed. Too tired. Couldn't do anything. The thing was getting closer. Eyes were getting heavier. I fell to my knees. Sleepy…

Footsteps. A voice. "I'll take it from here." Junpei? He took the gun.

The light began to fade. A faint sound. Herms? Worms? I didn't know. I just wanted to sleep.

I passed out.

* * *

"It's so nice to see you again."

Not this place again…

Yes, I was back in the blue room with Igor and Elizabeth. Presumably my mind would be even more screwed over by the time this conversation was done.

Igor gave an unnerving smile. "Do not be alarmed. You became unconscious after awakening to your power. It's nothing to be worried about, though."

"What do you mean, power?"

"That power is called Persona… a manifestation of your psyche, a facet of your personality. You can think of it as a mask that protects you from life's hardships…"

I blinked several times. "You lost me."

Igor grinned even more wildly. "I see I will have to explain more clearly, then. By pressing an evoker to your head and pulling the trigger, you brought forth the power that had long been dormant inside of you."

I paused to think. "By 'evoker', do you mean that fake gun?"

Igor nodded in approval. "You are an observant one. Soon, your awakened power will be your sword and shield in your upcoming trials. Others will soon explain this to you. You must merely be patient, and not dive in recklessly. Do you understand?"

I slowly nodded. "I think so…" I still had a lot of questions, but having some explanation, no matter how vague, did soothe my nerves. Having shot something out of the depths of my mind also made my previous experience with this room, of waking up with that key in my hand, seem less surreal.

Igor continued. "That being said, your power is still weak. When you channel your new Persona ability, you must call upon your inner strength. Your ability will evolve as you develop your Social Links – your bonds to others. The stronger your social links, the greater your power will evolve."

I took a deep breath. "I think I understand. To summarise everything you've told me, shooting myself with that evoker caused my power – Persona – to awaken. That power is based on my thoughts in some way or another; if bits of my mind can become real, getting that key from my dreams seems slightly less absurd. Anyway, I have this power now, and to strengthen it I need to become closer to others. Is that right?"

Igor nodded in approval. "That is the crux of the matter, yes. However, do note if you consider someone as a source of power alone, then you will never become close enough to hold true power. Can you remember this?"

I clapped my hands together. "Got it. Don't be a manipulative bastard."

Igor chuckled, but then his expression fell. "By the way, I saw that it was the Pied Piper who heeded your calling. That was most unexpected. All of my readings had predicted someone else to come." His grin abruptly returned. "Still, perhaps all that means is that your power is wilder than expected. Who knows to what heights your power could reach? And besides, perhaps the one I predicted could come again to aid you at another point."

At this sudden onrush of information, questions flooded my mind. "What do you mean? What did you predict? How is my power wild? What do you mean by aid?"

Igor let out a deep, soul-rending laugh. "Next time we meet, when you come here of your own accord, I will explain these things to you, and more. But I should not keep you here any longer. Time marches on in your world. Before you go, though, I should mention one last thing…" His voice trailed off.

I leant closer to him. "Go on."

"Always remember that no matter what anyone else says, you have your own free will. Yes, you could run away from responsibility forever, but it is only by seizing the initiative that we reach our true potential."

Before I could respond, Igor smiled again. "Now then… farewell." Again something tugged at me from behind, and I was falling through inky blackness.

* * *

"Urgh…"

My mind was slowly getting clearer. It felt like I'd been asleep for months.

With effort, I unscrewed my eyes. Everything was white. Hospital. Like when my parents…

"Hey, you're awake."

I turned to see Junpei. I let out a deep yawn. "How long have I been asleep?"

Junpei smiled. "Over a week. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you. They just said you were exhausted. You just kept sleeping, though. Everyone was worried. Good that you're up now, though."

I shifted slightly in bed. "Thanks for looking out for me…"

"You kidding?" Junpei interrupted. "I don't why you decided to shoot yourself, but if you hadn't, we'd both be zombies now. You saved our bacon. Your power… it was incredible."

I chuckled slightly. "Thanks. Can you tell me more about that? I mean, what did I actually do?" While Igor almost certainly had all the answers, he seemed to enjoy withholding them all. Information from other sources would help immensely.

"Well…" Junpei scratched his head. "I'd like to, but Mitsuru and the Chairman said they want to explain it directly to you when you woke up. You should be able to get out later today. They'll tell you in the evening, okay?"

I sighed. "Okay." Half a day to wait for some answers. That was tolerable.

_Boo on waiting. We agreed that this was the time you would start burning things._

If nothing interesting happened. This is interesting enough that I'm willing to see what happens.

_You gave up on that. It was this sort of stuff – that key – which made you want to burn everything just before you fell asleep. How is it going to be any different now?_

We won't know until we get there.

_Fine. I see your mind is made up. Remember, pyromania is always an option._

"I'm curious, though…" Junpei's voice brought me back to reality. "How did you know to mention the word 'Persona'? I mean, none of us told you it or anything, so…?"

"The voice in my head told me."

Junpei frowned. "Wait, so Lyra knows about Personas and stuff?"

It was my turn to be puzzled. "How do you know I call her Lyra?"

"Oh, the Chairman decided to have you transferred to the dorm permanently. He showed your record to everyone already there, so we could help you settle in more readily. You should have seen Mitsuru's face when she saw half of what you did! I have to say, you really sold yourself short on the train."

I facepalmed. "Please don't bring up my past. I'm sort of trying to make a new start here."

Junpei smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be insensitive. In that case, though, you probably won't be happy with the reason we gave to school for your absence.

I sighed. "What did you tell them?"

"We told them that you heard the rumours about you, and the resulting destruction of your reputation before it could even be built caused you to have a small psychological breakdown." What? "Is that fine?" He looked even more sheepish.

I facepalmed again, this time harder. "You really couldn't think of anything better?"

"Well, we tried to tell them you just had a cold, but that stopped holding up after the first three days, and the school decided you were just skiving, based on your record. Honestly, that was the only way we could think of for getting you back in without repercussions. Can you think of anything better?"

I stopped to think for several long seconds, then several more, then several more. "I see your point."

An awkward silence filled the room. "What were we talking about earlier?" Junpei asked. "Oh yeah, Lyra. Everyone saw your psychologist's report. Why do you think she knew about Personas?"

Lyra, why do you know about Personas?

_There are things which man was never meant to know._

"She's being vague and unresponsive."

"Huh? Of course, you can talk to her. Anyway, I need to be going now. Mitsuru said I needed to help with some things to do with you formally moving into the dorm, okay?"

"Sure. I fully expect a hot tub in my room when I get back."

"In your dreams, maybe."

"Nah. My dreams are filled with old people with long noses, and board games with cosmic monstrosities."

We had a brief laugh, before a doctor shooed Junpei away to do some tests on me.

As I settled back while the doctor took my pulse, I let out a calm sigh. For the first time in my life, I was beginning to feel settled in one place. It felt good.

* * *

A couple of tests, a few forms to sign, and once they were sure I was all healthy, I was discharged from the hospital just as evening began to fall. One uneventful walk later, it was already dark by the time I got back to the dorm.

I was greeted by a note telling me to go up to the fourth floor meeting room.

The meeting room was similar to the ground floor lounge, being centred about a set of sofas around a large coffee table. While the sofas did look slightly more expensive than the ones in the lounge, the main difference was the giant bank of computer consoles lining one of the meeting room's walls.

Everyone was there. "Welcome, Arisato. Please take a seat," Mitsuru greeted me. I obliged.

"Could you please tell me what's going on?" I asked.

"Jumping straight to the point, are we?" Ikutsuki quipped. "Before I do, though, I should introduce you to Akihiko Sanada." He gestured at the silver-haired boy that I'd seen leaving the other day. He looked upbeat, despite his left arm hanging in a sling.

He stuck out his good hand. "How ya doin'?"

I shook it. "Better than you, it looks like."

That earnt a glare from Mitsuru, but Akihiko just laughed. "Good one. You've got a nerve. I like you already."

Ikutsuki cleared his throat. "Ahem… back to business. Minato, let me start off by asking you this: would you believe me if I told you a day consists of more than twenty-four hours?"

I considered my words. "Ordinarily, no, but given that you asked me that very specific question, my guess is that you'll have some conclusive evidence to prove the existence of a twenty-fifth hour or something, whereupon I'll have to believe you."

Ikutsuki gave a creepy smile, not dissimilar to one of Igor's. "My, you're a sharp one. Do you remember the night you came here?"

"When everything was green?"

He nodded. "That very night. You had to have noticed things were wrong: the streetlights were out, the streets were lined with coffins, the moon was huge, not to mention the greenness, as you put it. Didn't you feel like you were in a different time?"

I paused. "I don't follow."

Ikutsuki adjusted his glasses. "Every night, at midnight, the world turns green and grim for one hour. We call that hour the 'Dark Hour'. Think of it as a time hidden between one day and the next."

I paused again. After shooting myself had caused something to materialise, this wasn't too hard to believe, but I wanted as much information as possible. "What do you mean by 'hidden between'?"

"During the dark hour, everything stops. Cars, animals, electricity, even time itself." So that was why my phone had cut out. I hadn't used it since; well, now I knew it wasn't broken.

Ikutsuki continued, "That last one is especially important. When the Dark Hour begins, it's midnight, and when it ends, it's still midnight. That's how it's hidden between two days.

"As you can guess, most people aren't aware of the Dark Hour. During the Dark Hour, ordinary people turn into those coffins you saw. We call this Transmogrification."

Akihiko interrupted, sounding excited. "That's not the most interesting part, though. You saw that thing… it was one of what we call 'shadows'. They only appear during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru shouted. "Why are you always like this? You just got hurt the other day."

"Now, now, Mitsuru," Ikutsuki chided, "He does his job well. Returning to the matter at hand," he continued, turning his attention back to me, "to conclude, we're the Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES for short. On paper, we're a school club, but in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the shadows. Mitsuru is the club leader, and I'm the advisor."

He took out a briefcase from under the desk. "There are some rare individuals who can operate in the Dark Hour. Some even awaken to a power with which to fight the shadows. That power is Persona – the same power you awakened to on the roof. Only you can defeat the shadows."

He opened the briefcase. Inside was a red armband with 'SEES' written on it – I looked up and saw Mitsuru, Akihiko and Junpei (who had been unusually quiet) all wore one of these bands – and what I assumed was an evoker, guessing from its shape and what Igor had told me.

"We want you to lend us your aid." He finally got to the point.

I looked at the case, then back to him, then back to the case, then back to him. "Before I commit to anything, I have a few questions."

Ikutsuki leant back in his armchair. "Sure. Go ahead."

"I'll start with the most obvious. What exactly are these shadows?"

Mitsuru answered it. "Shadows are the eternal enemy of mankind."

It took me a few seconds to realise she stopped speaking. "That's it? Did you never stop to wonder what was creating them, or why they ended up hating us humans?"

Mitsuru shifted uncomfortably. "I will admit, we were not concerned with the origins of the shadows. Our main goal is to protect people from shadow attacks: shadows attack their victim's brain, leaving behind a walking corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news."

I didn't watch the news, but whatever. "Alright. Next question: what exactly is this 'Persona' power?"

An awkward silence filled the air, before Mitsuru attempted to answer. "Well, the origin of this power was another thing we did not consider, because…"

"Kill shadows, save people. I get it. Next: what's the cover story for SEES as a club?"

Ikutsuki took this one. "On paper, SEES stands for 'Specialised Extracurricular Elocution Squad'. In theory, our club's goal is to develop the leadership and public speaking skills of special individuals, for high-ranking positions in politics, civil service or the like. With me as the advisor, everyone finds it believable."

I nodded. "Okay. Last question: what caused the Dark Hour?"

The silence returned as no-one attempted to answer the question. I noticed Mitsuru shift in discomfort again for a brief moment.

I facepalmed. These people weren't filling me with the greatest confidence.

_You see, this is why you should go back to pyromania._

That didn't seem like such a bad idea right now.

I was about to tell them to piss off, when Junpei suddenly began speaking. "Hold up, hold up, Minato! Is Lyra there with you?" Everyone else looked at him in surprise.

I blinked. Where was he going with this? "Of course she is."

"What's she telling you right now?"

Well…

_Burn. Burn. Buuurrrrrrnnn._

"She's telling me to go on an arson spree, and honestly I'm thinking of listening to her."

Junpei gave a smile, beginning to look like a door-to-door salesman. "Well, this is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Tired of cooping up that voice everyday? Want to let her out, but don't want to get arrested? What if I told you that, for a limited time only, you have the chance to do just that?"

Everyone was looking at him in confusion and shock, but Junpei ploughed on regardless. "Yes, what if I told you that you could vent all your impulses whilst even doing the world a favour? I present to you, courtesy of the Dark Hour: the Shadows!

"Yes, a thing which actively wants to be, needs to be eradicated: such a thing does exist! Just think about it: countless waves of faceless shadows, ready for you to slice, dice, break and burn at your heart's content!

"'Oh my god!' I hear you cry, 'how can I take advantage of this great offer?' Well, that would be simple: all you have to do, for a one-off fee – wait, what's that? Hold your horses, I'm just received confirmation that for a limited time, we are waiving all fees! That's right, this amazing service can be all yours for free, if you join SEES right now!

"What's more, we have a special limited time bonus offer going on right now! If you join within the next five minutes, you could walk away with this custom-made evoker and commemorative armband! Ordinarily, I don't know how much extra these bonuses would cost you, but it would certainly be a pretty penny!

"Just think of the benefits and savings! Right now, you stand to get for free what countless others would be willing to pay thousands for! An outlet for every dark thought you ever get, all the while doing the world a great favour: don't miss out on this incredible offer! Don't delay, join SEES today!"

You could hear a pin drop in the ensuing silence.

_That was a load of crap. Why don't we start with this dorm?_

"You sold me. I'm in."

_Wait, what?_

I like his attitude. Besides, what does it matter to you what I set on fire? You never seemed to care much if it was buildings, trash cans or trees. Why should shadows be any different?

_Minato, I'm only trying to help. If you go down this path, there will only be pain._

I hesitated. Everyone looked at me, as if not believing what I'd just said. The contract I'd signed flashed back into my mind. _I choose this fate of my own free will._ Lyra claimed that pain would come on this path… could I accept that?

They all continued to stare at me, unsure what to say or do.

I continued to think, then steadied my breathing.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm in."

_To have chosen this path… I hope it does not consume you._

Everyone looked visibly relieved. They all stood up, and Mitsuru stepped forward. "I'm glad you made that decision." We shared a handshake.

A dull _**Crack**_ filled my mind, and time seemed to stop. Alright, this was unexpected.

_**Thou art I… and I am thou…**_

This voice wasn't Lyra. It was much richer and deeper, and created a sense of icy mountains.

An image of a card appeared in my head. A man with a bindle and a dog, wandering aimlessly. Underneath, the number zero was written.

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Fool Arcana…**_


	5. Chapter 4: Recruitment

Just as abruptly as time had stopped, it started again. Everyone else continued milling about, seemingly oblivious to what I had felt.

Lyra, do you know what that was?

_My guess is that was the 'Social Link' stuff Igor was talking about. Chances are, you'll be experiencing that a lot. And before you ask, no, I don't know who that mysterious voice was. Sorry._

No problem. Thanks for helping.

"Glad to have you aboard," Ikutsuki said, bringing me back to reality. "And about your room assignment: feel free to stay here, with the rest of SEES. I'm not sure what the delay with your accommodation was, but I guess it worked out in the end." He gave a slight chuckle.

I nodded. I wasn't going to bring up that time freeze for obvious reasons, and I had nothing else to add.

"It's getting late," Mitsuru commented. "You should probably be getting some rest; we can sort out the rest of the process tomorrow." I was ready to object, but I was interrupted by a heavy yawn that reminded me I had only got out of hospital earlier that day.

"Sure. See you all tomorrow." Another round of handshakes later, I was walking back to my room. I was asleep in minutes.

I dreamt that I was the mass of limbs that had been on the room, when the trumpeter that had burst out of the Pied Piper swept down and ate me. That was rather freaky.

A soft voice woke me up. "Hi, how are you?"

I rubbed my eyes, noticing everything was green – the Dark Hour – and looked up at the familiar voice. It took me a few seconds to recognise him as the same boy as before, from the lobby and the roof, still in the same striped pyjamas. "You…"

The boy gave a light laugh. "Hello again, Minato."

"How did you get in here?"

He continued smiling. "Didn't you realise? I came here with you. After all, I'm always with you." What. Always with me? I knew I hadn't seen him before I'd come to this city. Lyra, do you what he's talking about?

_Not a clue. I don't know who he is either. Sorry._

"Anyway," the boy continued, "I came to tell you something. Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought I should tell you that."

A hint of panic crept into my throat. "Wait. What do you mean by the end?"

"The end of everything. But to be honest, I don't really know what it is." His expression briefly turned to one of curiosity, before returning to a smile. "I also see that you've awakened to your power. A power that takes many forms, and yet is bound by none… will it prove to be your oblivion or salvation? Only time will tell."

The boy began to pace around my room. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"How could I forget? Everything started to go weird, and I signed that contract."

His smile widened. "Very good. Though things have been weird for much longer… but that can wait. I expect you to honour your commitment. I'll always be watching, even if you forget me, okay? Well, farewell." Before I could say anything, he seemed to fade into black mist before dissipating.

I sat there in silence.

Eh. I'd already accepted a voice in my head, a twenty-fifth hour of the day and how shooting myself caused bits of my mind to manifest. Compared to that, what was a mysterious boy who seemed to know about the end of the world and who could vanish at will?

_Don't be so quick to dismiss him. If the end is coming, then you certainly should not ignore him._

It was a rhetorical question, Lyra, but I see your point.

I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

* * *

I decided to walk to school the next morning, which meant that Junpei caught up with me just as I reached the gates. "Sup, Minato. How are you holding up?"

I shrugged. "Been better, been worse. Of course, everyone's going to be staying miles away from me today, so ask me again at the end of the day."

Junpei gave a laugh. "Come on, if it's as bad as you think it's gonna be, I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen. And hey, I heard from Akihiko last night – after you went to sleep – that he found another Persona user, so someone else will be joining SEES."

That was new. "What did he tell you?"

Junpei began grinning like a madman. "Not much, not much, except that she's a girl! Come on, with three of us guys there already, you'd have to appreciate a few more members of the fairer sex. And hey, if she's cute, so much the better."

I stopped to think over what Junpei had just said. "You know what? I'll let you handle her. They shouldn't be greeted by someone they'll want to run away from – no, they should be greeted by someone they can tolerate for five minutes, then want to run away from."

Junpei lightly punched me. "Tsk. Suit yourself. All this means is that I get first choice, and you'll see the old Iori charm in action."

"Right. I'll be sure to take a video of your magnificent moment."

Then the bell rang, and we had to run to make it to class.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear about Minato?"

"The transfer student? I heard he went crazy and tried to burn down the shrine."

Yep, the rumours about me were flying thick and fast, and everyone gave me a wide berth.

To be honest, I didn't really care – I'd gotten used to shit like this at all my previous schools, and now as a member of SEES, I actually had some sense of social contact with the outside world, so I wouldn't be a complete pariah.

_Hey, the teacher just asked you a question._

Huh? I turned back to reality, and saw Mr. Ono, the eccentric history teacher (why did he feel the need to wear a samurai helmet?) stare at me expectantly.

"Well…"

_I'm going to have to bail you out again, aren't I? He asked you about the difference between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic Eras. The difference is…_

"Isn't the difference how the tools were made? I think Palaeolithic tools were chipped stone, and Neolithic tools were ground."

All the other students looked at me as if I was some kind of unholy icon, but Mr. Ono seemed impressed. "Well done, Arisato. Yes, the difference between the two eras…" he continued droning on.

_I'm surprised you remembered that from last time I told you._

Well, I need to try remember some of the answers in case you ever decide to stop giving them. I have an academic record to keep up.

Not long after, it was lunchtime. I sat by myself in the centre of the room, ignoring the whispers around me. I saw Junpei get whisked away by two boys, looking back at me as he went. I also saw Yukari attempt to approach me several times, each time wavering and going back to her clique, regret in her eyes.

_You and me. Just like old times, eh?_

Sure. Though that boy did say he was always with me. I could use another figment of my imagination to talk to.

_You know you're going insane when you start wanting more imaginary friends. Anyway, what's on your mind?_

Not much. Just reflecting on everything that's happened in the past few days.

_I told you it would be interesting._

You did also advise me to give up several times, though.

_Hey, as long as I have a voice, I can be a hypocrite, right?_

True. Are you going to do that again?

_Remember, I have your interests at heart. In times of great terror and uncertainty, to flee may be wisest option of all._

I'll keep that in mind.

Then the bell rang, and Lyra advised me to try pay attention to lessons for once.

* * *

The final bell rung, and I left without saying a word to anyone, ignoring more whispers.

I was just leaving the front gates when I heard the patter of footsteps behind me. "Wait up, Minato." Junpei.

I turned to look at him. "What do you want?"

He looked guilty. "I just wanted to say, sorry for not chilling with you today. The rumours were way worse than I thought, and no-one wanted to be near you…"

"It's not a big deal. Honestly, I'm used to it. I'll see you back at the dorm."

I prepared to leave, but Junpei clasped a hand to my shoulder. "Hold on. I promised you a bowl of ramen, didn't I?"

He seemed sincere, and a free meal was a free meal.

"Sure. Lead the way."

He took me to a place called Hagakure Ramen. It was crowded, but it didn't take us long to get served.

"I'll have a special, good sir," Junpei ordered.

"Could I have a spice bowl, but with six times the normal amount of chillies?"

Junpei stared at me in disbelief. "Dude… can you really take the heat?"

"I burn things, don't I?"

He laughed, before two steaming bowls of ramen materialised before us. Junpei picked up his chopsticks. "This place is sweet, isn't it? Quick service, nice atmosphere, good pricing, not to mention how the food is great. Well, dig in!"

He tore into his food, and I did the same. Mmm… burning…

"Dude, you okay? You look kinda uncomfortable."

I didn't respond, not only because the food was too good, but also because the spice had completely halted my powers of speech.

As I finished the last of my soup and wiped the sweat of my forehead, I finally managed to utter a few words.

"That… was… awesome."

At that, Junpei perked up again and returned to eating his food. I sat there in silence, waiting until I could speak more clearly.

By the time Junpei was done, I, with the aid of a glass of cold water, had finally recovered the ability to talk. "Thanks for bringing me here, Junpei. It does feel a lot better than moping by myself."

He gave a warm smile. "No problem. Good to see you back to yourself. Just remember I'm here for you, alright?"

I smirked and slouched back into my seat. "Look at you, being all supportive. Are you trying to become my surrogate dad?"

Junpei laughed again. "See, this is the Minato I know. Good to have you back. Don't cut yourself off, and you'll do fine for yourself, right?"

I smiled and nodded.

_**Crack.**_

Time stopped again. That meant…

_**Thou art I… and I am thou…**_

Yep. Icy mountains voice again, and a new Social Link.

Another card appeared in my mind. A floating pair of eyes, and a pair of hands conjuring a fireball. The Roman numeral for the number one written beneath.

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Magician Arcana…**_

Time started again, just as Junpei checked his watch. His eyes opened in surprise. "Crap, it's that late already? We need to get back to the dorm to greet our new guest!"

"Sure. I need to get the camera ready."

He gave another one of his wild grins. "Oh, that will make my victory all the sweeter."

We continued chatting and bantering on the way back to the dorm.

* * *

"Arisato, is the camera really necessary?"

In anticipation of the big moment, I'd unpacked my SLR camera and tripod (yes, I'd 'borrowed' it from one of my previous schools) and set it up to film the dorm's entrance. Junpei had taken a quick shower, and was rearing to go.

Akihiko had gone to the girls' dorms to pick up the new recruit, to aid her with her luggage (even with his broken arm). That left Mitsuru in the dorm to make sure me and Junpei (mostly Junpei) stayed in line.

I nodded to Mitsuru. "We definitely need to record Junpei's great failure on video. How else will future generations know how not to pick up women?"

Mitsuru frowned, and was about to respond when the handle of the door began turning open.

Junpei adjusted his cap and turned on his warmest non-creepy grin.

Mitsuru straightened her shirt and stood to look more authoritative.

I started recording.

As expected, Akihiko came through the door first, somehow carrying two large suitcases in his one good hand. "There's someone I'd like to introduce," he called to us. He stepped out of the way to let the newcomer through.

None of us had been expecting her.

Junpei's expression turned from that smile of his, through recognition, into several shades of confusion, before ending up somewhere between fear and disbelief. "Yu… Yukari-san?"

The cardiganed brunette looked similarly confused. "Stupei? This is the dorm I'm staying in? You've got to be kidding me!"

For a few moments, everyone held an awkward silence.

I internalised a sigh and stepped forward. "Hey, Yukari-san. Welcome to SEES. Make yourself at home."

She blushed slightly. "Hey, Minato-san. I'd forgotten you were in this dorm as well. Umm…" Her voice trailed off.

"Still not sure how to approach me in conversation?"

She seemed taken aback, but her eyes told me all I needed to know.

"I'm pretty sure that sometime soon, you'll be given a report about my mental status. Until then, you should know that this past week while I was absent, I didn't go crazy or anything. I was just hospitalised with extreme exhaustion."

She nodded, accepting my explanation.

"Ahem." Akihiko cleared his throat. "I found her by the Strip Mall, panicking like crazy. After I helped her calm down, I told her about us, and she agreed to help."

That seemed to snap Yukari back to attention. "Yeah… it was kinda scary, having all that information piled up at once. But, I'm ready to do what it takes!"

Junpei slid next to her. "And I'll be right by your side…" Joyous. Junpei hadn't decided to bail on his plan.

Not unexpectedly, Yukari slapped him in the face, and he limped off, damage mostly limited to his pride.

"Enough with the introductions." Mitsuru took command. "First, some affairs with our new members. Takeba, this is for you." She pulled a briefcase from under the sofa, like the one I'd seen last night. "Inside is your evoker and your SEES armband. Arisato's suggestion of a summary will be following shortly.

"Both you and Arisato will also be getting new phones, specially designed to work in the Dark Hour. Any specific designs you want?"

Yukari shrugged. "I don't really mind."

"I'd like an iPhone, please."

"Very well. Those will be arriving tomorrow, when you come back from school. The other issue is that with this amount of people, we can recommence explorations."

Junpei's eyes widened. "You mean go back to Tartarus?"

My interest was piqued. "What's Tartarus? Why are we exploring it?" I asked. Yukari was similarly curious.

Mitsuru simply gave a knowing smile. "You'll see what Tartarus is tomorrow, but suffice to say for now that we believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there. I'll give the details tomorrow night with the chairman, so be ready."

There wasn't anything else to say, so I turned off the camera and took it back to my room. While I had been hoping for footage of a more spectacular failure, that video of the slap to the face was good enough.


	6. Chapter 5: Darkness

The next morning, I was walking to school when an out-of-breath Yukari caught up to me. "Hold on," she gasped. "I wanted to talk to you."

I slowed my pace to let her catch her breath. "What about?"

She seemed slightly apprehensive. "I… wanted to apologise for not making you feel more welcome."

I shrugged. "Hey, unlike most other people, you actually tried to welcome me. If anything, I should be thanking you."

She gave a slight brush. "Thanks, Minato-san. You're a nice guy… I still feel kinda bad, though, especially about yesterday. I shouldn't have let those new rumours about you get to me. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "I haven't planned anything yet."

Yukari perked up. "Do you want to catch a movie or something tomorrow? Let me make it up to you."

I grinned. "Sure. Is this a date?"

Her smile turned into a deep blush, and her expression became flustered. "What? No, I didn't mean it like that… you're just as bad as Junpei." She then slapped me in the face and rushed off in a huff.

_Real smooth there, Minato._

* * *

School that day was unremarkable, except that Yukari came to me at lunch, to apologise for slapping me and to tell me that her offer still stood (it was most definitely not a date). Inevitably that caused a new wave of rumours: I was psycho who had caught the eye of the most popular girl in the year, and whom no one knew whether to befriend or avoid. I was really making a name for myself.

That evening, we all gathered in the meeting room to listen to the chairman talk about 'Tartarus'.

"I'd like your undivided attention," he began. "For some time, we only had three Persona users on hand, but that number has recently jumped to five. Therefore, at midnight tonight, I'd like us to explore Tartarus."

I interrupted. "I know I asked this yesterday, but what is this 'Tartarus'?"

Junpei gave a nervous laugh. "Heh… I'm not surprised you don't know. It only appears during the Dark Hour…" Evidently Tartarus had the capacity to terrify him.

"What do you mean, it only appears in the Dark Hour?" Yukari seemed to have picked up on Junpei's nervousness, and she seemed to be shaking now as well.

Mitsuru stepped in to calm everyone. "At this point, the easiest way to answer your questions will be to show you. Think of it as a nest for the shadows. As long as we're dealing with shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid. Do any of you have immediate concerns?"

I shook my head, and no-one raised any issues. Mitsuru smiled and nodded. "We'll set off shortly. Before we do, Arisato, Takeba, here are your new phones." She handed me a black iPhone, while Yukari received a white one.

"Thank you, Mitsuru-sempai." I added my thanks to Yukari's.

"Both of you will also need this." She handed both of us a small earpiece. "This is to stay in communications in Tartarus. I will be staying back to feed you information. As Akihiko is injured, he will be staying with me by the entrance. Iori will be going with you as backup, but the main purpose today will be getting the two of you accustomed to Tartarus and your Personas. We won't ask you to be going far in."

I nodded. I still didn't know what Tartarus was, but at least I understood what I'd be doing now.

Yukari, though, looked puzzled. "Hold on. What about you, Mr. Chairman?"

Ikutsuki looked down, as if dejected. "I'll have to stay here. I don't have the same power as you."

An awkward silence filled the room, before Mitsuru cleared her throat. "We should be going now. To maximise exploration time, we should arrive just before the Dark Hour begins."

* * *

I have to say, I was surprised at where Mitsuru led us to.

"This is our school." Yukari was similarly disbelieving.

Mitsuru gave a knowing smile. "It's a few seconds to midnight. Hold on."

Everything turned green, as expected.

A dark, abrasive grating sound began echoing from underneath our feet. Okay, that didn't seem natural.

With a sharp judder, the school suddenly jerked upwards. That definitely was not natural.

Slowly it began its rise, spires occasionally breaking or twisting off at impossible angles. Onwards and onwards did it continue to climb, until it scraped the murky green haze of the sky above, blocking out the light of the crescent moon.

The abnormal colours and textures, the colossal scale that no human hands could create, the sense how none of it could fit in any system of geometry… all of it reminded me of Lovecraft's description of sunken R'lyeh. Like how Cthulhu waited in that drowned city, I could only shudder at what horrors waited within this tower.

Yukari's voice was filled with awe and terror. "This… our school became Tartarus?"

Mitsuru nodded, already accustomed to the sight. "Indeed. After the Dark Hour, everything returns to normal, but yes, this is Tartarus, the labyrinth that only appears in the Dark Hour.

"But… but why did it turn into this?"

Mitsuru was silent. I spoke up. "I doubt anyone knows. Is that why we're looking for answers here?"

Akihiko replied, smile on his face. "Yeah. You can feel there's some sort of clue in here. Exciting, isn't it?"

Mitsuru cleared her throat to regain control. "Remember, Akihiko, given your injury, you will stay at the entrance with me."

That deflated him. "I know… you didn't have to remind me."

We entered the tower to find a large hallway. A flight of stairs leading to a giant clock with an archway cut in was the focus of the room. Next to the stairway was another, much smaller clock, along with sort of green machine. The walls and ceiling were all twisted like the tower itself, though the floor was level. In the corner of the room, I noticed an oddly familiar blue door.

"It's just like outside…" Yukari's mood hadn't changed. "It sure is creepy…"

"This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs," Mitsuru calmly told us. "As I said, you, Arisato and Iori will be going in to get a feel of the place. I'll feed you information from here. I'll also appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions." She looked over us several times. "Arisato, you're the leader."

Wait, what? "Why am I the leader? I don't have any experience in fighting these shadows – on the roof, I just pulled a trigger and blind luck did the rest! And…"

I would have continued rambling, but Akihiko cut me off. "Junpei has showed us before that he's the most incompetent leader possible." The boy in question attempted to hide within his jacket. Akihiko ignored him and continued, "Minato, you have one special quality: you've summoned your Persona before, while Yukari hasn't."

He paused for dramatic effect. "These are shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed. Since Minato's summoned his Persona before, he's less likely to panic, so that's why we appointed him leader."

Okay. Their logic was sound enough, though I still did feel that Junpei should have been leading… and why was that door so familiar?

"So, when you're ready, go through the doorway… Arisato, are you alright?" They couldn't see it. Figures.

"Give me a moment." I stepped towards the door to get a better look at it. As I got closer, I felt a sense of heaviness from within one of my pockets. Its source was a blue, triangular key which I had certainly not taken with me.

This door leads to the Velvet Room, doesn't it?

_Right on._

Huh. Lyra had been unusually quiet; she tended to talk a lot around these really weird things.

Well, I should probably see Igor again and try extract some answers from him. Sighing, I jammed the key into the keyhole and opened the door.

Yep. It was this place again. Igor was sitting there, and Elizabeth was standing quietly in the corner, as usual.

At my entrance, Igor gave his characteristic wild and creepy grin. "I've been waiting for you. The time has come for you to wield your power. Why did this tower come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not yet able to answer these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."

"Right. About that…"

Igor raised a hand to silence me. "Let me explain first, then I will deal with the issues you ask. Your power is that of the wild card: by itself it may be empty, but it yet holds infinite possibilities. Perhaps more than I could have ever predicted."

I leant closer to him. "Yeah, you mentioned my power was 'wilder than expected'. What did you mean by that?"

Igor gave a dismissive laugh. "I believe it is best for you to experience it for yourself when you venture into the tower. When you return, I will explain. Suffice to say for now, you have the power to acquire and use multiple Personas, and summon them as needed."

Wow. That seemed pretty cool. Igor continued.

"When you have defeated your enemies, you may see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp, but you should not fear. Seize what you have earned, and your power will grow accordingly. Be sure to keep that in mind."

"Don't worry. I will."

Igor smiled again; not a crazy one, but a genuinely warm one for once. "My spare time will soon become scarce. But please come again of your own accord. Then, not only will I answer the issue of your wildness, but I will also tell you of my true role… the manner in which I can best assist you. Until then, farewell."

I sat there for a few seconds, expecting to be sucked out by some mysterious force again, before I realised I could walk out the door I came in.

When I returned to the real world, Junpei and the others were standing behind me, looking concerned. "Dude, are you alright? You looked like a zombie for a moment there…"

_You should probably tell them about that._

What, an imaginary room? They'll think I've really gone crazy.

_Not all of it. Just that you can use multiple Personas. This way, they won't be shocked when you summon something unexpected while exploring._

Fair point. "I'm fine. Lyra just told me that I can use multiple Personas. Don't ask me why she knows, because I don't know myself." Having a mysterious, sage voice inside my head was useful sometimes.

_Right. This small lie seems simple enough. Just be careful not to convolute yourself too much._

Everyone's reaction was different. Junpei was confused, Yukari looked sceptical, Akihiko seemed impressed, while Mitsuru was merely curious. She was the first to speak. "Interesting… while we have no previous evidence to support such a thing being possible, this could be a great help against the shadows, if it was true."

I shrugged. "I don't know yet, either. Let's go into Tartarus and see."

Akihiko smiled. "I like your attitude." He then handed us some weapons – Junpei got a two handed katana he seemed accustomed to, Yukari received a shortbow for being on the archery team, and I was given the shortsword I'd been given the other day – before letting us set off into Tartarus.

* * *

"Whoa."

The first floor of Tartarus was the same sickly green as the outside. The ceiling was green, the lighting was green, the floor was chequered with green and black. Every now and then, a pool of blood dotted the floor. Yukari seemed somewhat oppressed by the atmosphere, while Junpei looked like he'd seen this all before.

"Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru's voice rang into my ear. "My Persona has this ability. I'd join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes every day, so outside support is imperative. Give a sign if you can hear me."

"I've got you."

"I can hear you, sempai."

"Iori, calling in."

"Good. Before you go any further, you should all summon your Personas, to acclimatise to them. Junpei, as the most experienced, you go first."

"Sure." He pulled out his evoker and pressed it to his head. "Hermes!" With a bang, and majestic blue figure rose behind him. He wore a golden visored helmet, and golden wings connected his wrists and ankles. It was a vibrant image of the Greek god. The figure soon faded.

"Arisato, you're next." I pulled out my evoker and pressed it to my head.

Huh. I was shooting myself again. This really didn't feel great for my mental health.

Eh. I'd done it before.

"Pied Piper!" The familiar man in black and white with his pipe appeared before me. Yukari stared in wonder, before he too vanished.

"Alright, Takeba. You haven't done it before, so feel free to take your time."

"Okay…" She took out her evoker and stared at it for several seconds, always trembling. Finally she pressed it to her head. "I can do this… I can do this… I can do this…"

She stood there panting for several seconds, trying to prepare herself to pull the trigger. "I just… pull the trigger… no chickening out…"

"Takeba…"

At Mitsuru's voice, Yukari collapsed, trying to stifle tears in her cardigan; I quickly ran to support her. "I… I can't do it…" she whimpered.

I gently stroked her hair (it felt like the right thing to do). "Don't worry. It's the most difficult the first time. Just ask yourself, what do you have to lose? It's not a real gun. It's not going to harm you."

"But… but… but…"

"Here." I handed her my evoker. "You saw this didn't harm me. It won't harm you either. And remember, we're all looking out for you."

She sniffled. "Th… thanks, Minato. I'll try again." She got up and pressed my evoker to her forehead. Again she tried to prepare herself to pull the trigger. "I can do this…"

This time, I gently put my hand on her shoulder. "I've got your back."

She smiled. "Okay… Persona!"

She pulled the trigger, and the shape of a cow's head appeared above her. There was a blonde woman chained within it. Wasn't this another Greek myth? Something about Zeus turning one of his lovers into a cow?

The figure completed the thought for me. **"I am Io… you have freed me… I will aid you on your journey…" **it spoke, before fading away.

"Io…" Yukari said, momentarily dazed by what she'd just done. She then turned to me. "Thanks, Minato-san. I don't think I could have done that without you."

I smiled, and was about to respond when Junpei interrupted. "The queen of 2-F and the new transfer student? Is this the blossoming of a new romance?"

After Yukari had slapped Junpei in the face again, we began moving deeper into the labyrinth. "These will be real battles you'll be fighting," Mitsuru reminded us. "Now, let's see if you can deal with all the shadows on this floor."

"Um, sempai…" Yukari asked. "How does this fighting actually work?"

"Very well. Naturally, you can attack with your weapons. These will do various types of physical damage, depending on the weapon. However, you can also use your Persona's skills. These have various affinities: fire, ice, wind, lightning, light and darkness, as well as the same physical affinities. Different shadows are more sensitive to different types of damage, so be sure to mix up techniques to exploit weaknesses."

"Alright…" I then noticed a shadow ahead of us.

"I've spotted a shadow. How should we engage?"

"Simply put, run up behind it and stab it. Be careful, though, as it will likely split into multiple smaller shadows when you attack it. Also, you'll be at a disadvantage if the enemy gets the first hit in, so try to surprise your opponents and strike first."

I didn't need to be told twice. I ran up behind the shadow and plunged by sword into its back. It exploded.

I was now surrounded by three small shadows, each an amorphous blob with a small mask. I vaguely recognised them; each looked like the pile of ichor that had crawled out of the remains of the large shadow on the roof.

"These are called Cowardly Mayas," Mitsuru explained. "They're weak to fire."

Fire, eh?

_Letting the old pyromaniac out, are you?_

I dodged the first Maya's clumsy lunge, leaving it sprawled on the floor. Dropping my sword, I pulled a can of deodorant from one of my pockets and a lighter from another, both packed for this very purpose.

"Stand back," I called to Junpei and Yukari.

Two seconds later, I had a working flamethrower.

The shadows didn't last very long after that.

_Isn't catharsis satisfying?_

I had forgotten how good setting something on fire felt…

"Well, I suppose that is another method for dealing with shadows," Mitsuru mumbled. "However, I would like to remind you that the purpose of this foray is to let you gain experience with your Persona. As such, I would recommend not using your new weapon until necessary."

Fine. I put my flamethrower away and picked my sword up again.

The next group of shadows was around the corner. I rushed them in the same way as the last group. Three more Mayas appeared around me.

"Yukari, summon Io and see what she can do! Junpei, take out one of these so I'm not surrounded!" I pressed my evoker to my head. "Pied Piper! Do something!"

The Pied Piper appeared above me, played a little ditty on his flute, then disappeared again. What?

One of the Mayas clawed at my leg. It was a shallow cut, but it still stung.

Another one lunged at me, and I jumped out the way, landing on my freshly injured leg. Ow. Ow. Ow.

"Hermes, Agi!" Junpei shouted from behind me. One of the Mayas became doused in fire and withered away. That fire skill would be useful for fighting them.

"Io… help him…" Yukari's voice was a worried whisper. Immediately a blast of wind staggered a second Maya, before an odd blue glow surrounded my leg. The sensation that followed was unnerving, but not painful. When the light faded, the wound on my leg had closed up.

"Cheers, guys!" I shouted back to them. "Pied Piper, could you do something helpful this time?"

He played another tune on his flute before vanishing again.

Screw this. I stabbed the nearest shadow until it collapsed, pirouetting out of the last shadow's way. "Yukari, you deal with the last one."

"Okay… I can do this." She was obviously still finding it difficult to pull the trigger on her evoker, but she steadied herself and summoned Io again. Another blast of wind staggered the shadow, and a hail of arrows finished it off.

_Look, Minato. Something's happening._

I quickly glanced around to see three cards spinning about my head. Okay, what was happening now?

_Grab one of the cards and see._

Fair enough. I reached out and crushed one of the cards in my hand.

"Dude, why did you just grasp at thin air?"

Rather than answer Junpei's question, I opened my hand. I did not expect to see several silver coins gleaming in my palm.

"Junpei, Yukari, don't ask me why, but apparently I can break the laws of physics as well." I showed them the coins (all real money) and briefly explained what I'd just experienced.

Igor mentioned something like this, didn't he? 'When you have defeated your enemies, you may see the faces of possibility before you.' Or something like that. This was probably what he meant.

"This is most interesting," Mitsuru spoke over the comm. "Evidently, we underestimated you potential, Arisato."

"Yes, sempai, but that doesn't really explain why he saw those cards or anything." Yukari was understandably confused, like I was.

I decided to say something. "Lyra just said that those cards were linked to me supposedly being able to use multiple Personas. How, I don't know yet."

"That is a fair explanation…" Mitsuru commented. "You should try catch more of these cards, to see what happens."

"Alright." We started walking again.

I had a brief chat to Yukari. "So, what can Io do?"

"Hm? Oh, I think she can use wind skills and heal injuries. Though, I don't know why they're called 'Garu' and 'Dia'. Skill names are weird…"

"Well, at least your Persona seems to be able to do things."

"If I may interrupt," Mitsuru cut in, "I believe you should continue trying to see what Pied Piper can do. It may be that its powers are not yet unlocked."

Alright. I'd caught sight of the next shadow, so I decided to give my Persona another try. This one only split into two smaller shadows when I stabbed it.

I put my evoker to my head again. "Alright, Pied Piper. This time, don't play music, or twiddle your thumbs, or waste my time. This time, do something offensive, to hurt these things."

When I pulled the trigger, Pied Piper seemed somewhat annoyed and frowned at me. He then put his flute to his lips and blew gently.

A small ball of light descended from nowhere, nestling between the two shadows.

It burst in a giant explosion.

Everything turned white.

What just happened?

I was sent flying through the air and landed roughly on my tailbone, before clacking my head onto the floor.

Really, what just happened?

Still half-dazed, I staggered to my feet just as my vision returned. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm fine, dude."

"I'm also fine. Just a bit dizzy."

"…sato." The comm was still filled with static, but Mitsuru's voice was clear. "What did you do?"

"I don't know. It just happened!" Igor really needed to give me some answers.

When everything became clear again, I saw three more cards floating around my head. I crushed one, expecting more money to come out.

Instead, I felt something warm seep into my arm, and something seemed to worm its way into my brain.

_You just got a new Persona. Apsaras, of the Priestess Arcana._

Thanks, Lyra. I'm curious, though. The term Arcana seems to be coming up a lot. Can you explain that to me?

_The Arcana refer to the twenty-two cards of a standard tarot deck. The Fool, the Magician and the High Priestess are three of those cards._

Cheers.

"Arisato, I'm guessing another card appeared before you. What did you get?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I got another Persona."

Mitsuru's voice almost quivered with excitement. "Remarkable… I would recommend testing this against more shadows."

"Will do." That response seemed to worry Yukari slightly, but she made no comment.

As we searched for more shadows, we passed a flight of stairs ("Staircases are the only way to proceed to the next floor," Mitsuru had said. "I can't allow you to go any further today, but please remember for next time.") and a strange yellowy-green circular tile embedded into the floor ("That's an access point. It lets you return from where you are to the ground floor.").

As we rounded the next corner, I saw another shadow. "Junpei, Yukari, you two hold back. I don't know what could happen here, so I need you two to avoid injury."

They both nodded, and I rushed at the shadow. Again it burst into three shadows.

Alright, let's see what this new Persona can do.

"Apsaras!" With the pull of my trigger, a figure appeared.

I took a brief moment to admire it. A pale-skinned young woman in a white dancing leotard, she had blue hair and wore a blue belt, seemingly made out of raindrops.

Suddenly she exploded.

A thousand things seemed to happen at once. A deep drilling pain seemed to rush out from the centre of my mind, something which I imagine a lobotomy would feel like. A cold blast of wind brushed by me, followed by small chunks of snow and ice that dug their way into my skin. And then I realised I was careening through the air, and I crashed into a wall, and I bounced off, and crashed into another wall, and bounced off again, then slid along the floor on my face for a few metres.

What just happened?

"Arisato, what just happened?"

I had no idea. "Erm… I think my new Persona just exploded."

"I could tell that. Any idea why?"

"Erm… no."

I looked to where Yukari and Junpei now were, and I was amazed to see that I'd been thrown a good twenty metres by that blast. The shadows I had been fighting seemed to have been obliterated.

Junpei came running over to me. "Dude, are you alright?"

I forced myself to my feet, and immediately regretted it. My entire head felt like someone had violated it with an electric whisk. One of my cheeks felt like it had been sandpapered off, and my body was bleeding from multiple small cuts from the ice.

Before I could say anything, though, a shrill scream pierced the air.

Yukari. Alone, a new group of shadows had pounced on her. She was now cut off and panicking.

Ignoring the pain in my own body, I started trying to run towards her. Every step caused the pain to spark up again, but I had to help.

She frantically dodged a swipe and pressed her evoker to her forehead. Yes. Io could defend her, then me and Junpei would deal with the rest.

She was about the pull the trigger.

She froze completely.

No. Don't stop. Just pull the trigger. You need your Persona…

The shadows seemed to sense her fear, and one of them clawed her arm. Yelping, she fell to the floor, dropping her evoker, which was quickly swept away.

Shit. Her bow would be useless, and without her Persona, all she had was a handful of arrows.

What had Akihiko said?

_Without your Persona, you're screwed._

I tried to run faster, but my body forbade it. I wouldn't make it in time.

Pied Piper would either do nothing or blow Yukari up as well. He wasn't an option.

Junpei had only just realised what was happening. He wouldn't make it in time.

Shit.

_Listen to me, Minato…_

Lyra. You've always been there. You have to do something!

_I can, Minato. You have to let me take control, though._

Take… control?

_I'm not one of your Personas. However, if you summon me like one of them, then I can take control of your body briefly. Only then can I help you._

Wait, how does that work?

_There's no time to explain!_

Okay. I have to save her.

"Lyra!"

Time seemed to slow, as I slowly became aware of what being wrenched from my own body felt like. It wasn't painful or anything, but there was a distinct wrongness about it that words couldn't really describe.

Dimly I realised I was losing my senses, but I was still aware of everything happening in my body. The facts seemed to be beamed directly into my conscious. That sensation, of not feeling and yet feeling, was even more unnerving.

All of a sudden, I knew there was something beneath my chest. I knew it was writhing, twisting inside of me, and all it gave out was an intense sense of wrongness.

For a split second, everything was still.

Then from my chest burst out a dark amorphous shapelessness, leaving blood and bone and lung in its wake. It rushed towards the shadows at an impossible speed and latched onto the nearest one.

The shadow gave an unearthly wail and withered into nothingness.

The shapeless thing turned into a conical wedge and pierced into the second shadow. Spikes spouted out of the cone, and it began to rotate.

The hapless shadow was torn apart from the inside.

The last shadow tried to flee, but the shapelessness caught up with it easily. It turned into what looked like a paper shredder.

The shadow's dying screams echoed through the halls of Tartarus.

The amorphousness finally seemed satisfied with its work and came back to me. It entered my chest through the hole it had made. As it settled back down, the hole closed up, leaving not a trace of a scar.

And like that, I was in control of my own body again.

Lyra… what did you do?

"Arisato, I can accept not knowing what happened in the earlier situations, but you need to tell me _right now_ what just happened."

Lyra… can you hear me?

"Arisato, I need you to concentrate!"

I looked up and saw Junpei and Yukari. Earlier, they had seemed doubtful, or confused, or sceptical at my odd abilities.

Right here, right now, the only expression on their faces was horror.

Lyra… who are you?

I tried to open my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

I did the only sensible thing I could think of.

I passed out.


	7. Chapter 6: Answers

When I regained consciousness, everything was black.

_So you've finally come about again._

That voice…

_I'm glad you recognise me. Naturally, you have questions, so fire away._

Right… what are you?

_Your guide._

Eh?

_Your power was always destined to be great, but it would be difficult to control, as you observed earlier. Therefore, I have always been with you from the beginning, to help you actualise your power._

That doesn't explain what you did.

_I have my own power as well. I was merely exercising it, as you asked me to._

But… what are you?

_I already said I was your guide._

No, I mean… where did your powers come from?

_I was made with them, like you were with yours._

I don't understand…

_Don't worry. You don't need to. All you need to know is that I am here to help you._

But, you almost killed me! You exploded my chest!

_You were never in danger of death. I would have prevented it. Besides, it was necessary._

Bullshit.

_It was necessary for you to understand the consequences of your actions._

…What do you mean?

_Life is full of strife and pain and uncertainty. Often men are left feeling helpless, leaving them to seek higher powers in desperation. You yourself did this just earlier. But such rash decisions can always lead to unintended consequences. The seeker may suffer, or the ones who the seeker sought to protect. The best intentions can lead to catastrophe. I merely intended for you to learn this._

…You almost killed me and scared the shit out of everyone to teach me that lesson?

_Indeed. As Igor said, your power is unique beyond all others. There will be things that only you can do. The world would suffer if such power were to be applied incorrectly._

How is bursting out of my chest supposed to prevent me from dying?

_You are focusing too much on reality. Your emotions are flying too wild. You must calm down, and hear me out._

Screw that. I don't need you. You're just a voice. I can ignore you all I want.

_Minato…_

Lalalala…

_Listen to me, Minato…_

Lalalala I can't hear you…

_MINATO ARISATO. STOP BEING AN IMMATURE BRAT AND LISTEN TO ME. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT._

I froze completely.

_Good. Now, you did something – use my power – and it had unpredicted consequences – you scared the shit of yourself. Are you going to let this bad experience cloud all your future judgements?_

Well…

_Shut up and listen. As is, there will be some things you will now be unwilling to do, even though you'll have to do them. You have to man up, get past this and do those things._

But…

_Shut up and think._

…

_Well?_

I suppose that could potentially…

_Stop stalling and give me a straight answer._

Fine. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Stuff happens, and we need to keep moving on.

_Good. At least you're not a complete cretin. That's the first thing you need to know._

Only the first?

_Yes. Now, listen up._

…Alright. I steadied my nerves, and forced myself to relax.

_It's not only about you. You need to remember what happens to everyone else as well._

...What do you mean?

_Suppose, for instance, that I had killed you. Would you have accepted death as the cost for saving someone you hardly know?_

I… yes?

_Perhaps. But could everyone else have?_

…Maybe?

_Suppose you were in, say, Junpei's position. The two of you have only just met, and yet you've become closer to him than anyone else in your life. Doubtless he already feels similarly about you. Suppose he had seen me tear you limb from limb. Suppose he had to scrape up the tattered shreds of your corpse from the floor. Do you think he would have been able to accept that so easily?_

I…

_What about Mitsuru? Sure, she's pragmatic, but now she has this new teammate with all this raw power which could be so useful against the nasty shadows – what would she do if she lost him straight away? What about Akihiko? You don't know him, but he's a fighter who probably wants to protect everyone – what would he do if he felt he should have saved you? What about the chairman? Think of how many strings he had to pull for you to be here. What would he do now all his efforts were in vain?_

I… I…

_What about Yukari? Oh, how the heroic leader with his amazing abilities died to save her, who couldn't even use the power she was given – isn't survivor guilt such a fantastic thing? And what about everyone else? All those who wanted to talk to you or would have needed you, all the friends and allies you'd never have met… all those opportunities lost, all because of your death._

_If you had been aware of all these things, would you have still sought my aid?_

I… I… I…

_To accept the consequences of your actions isn't just what happens to you, Minato. Your actions will have repercussions on everyone else. You have to accept the weight of their burdens as well. Only then can you choose the right fate for yourself._

…

_A lot to think about, isn't it?_

Lyra…

_Of course, I'm not actually going to kill you. But you did almost kill yourself by accident. Your power, as it is now, is a much greater threat to your continued existence than I am._

Is that also why you're here, then? So I won't kill myself?

_Sort of. I should explain all this again from the top, to make it clearer._

Alright.

_I am here to help you make full use of your power. Your power can do many things, but those things will have consequences. If you cannot accept those consequences, you will not be able to make full use of your power, which you will need to in the trials to come. That is my main goal: to help you understand consequence, which will allow you to have truly free will. _

But…

_Despair will lead you to do many things. In those moments, I will always be at hand, to lend you a higher power. And every time you seek my aid in those moments, you will walk away with fear and unholy terror instilled into your being. I will flay the skin from your flesh and the flesh from your bones to aid you, and I will not cease until you truly understand what it means to accept the consequences of your actions. You have to learn this now, so you can choose the right fate for yourself in the very end._

…

_That is my main goal. As you suggested, I am also here to help develop your power. But that can wait for a while longer. Igor needs to explain some things to you first._

I… see.

_Now you understand why I'm here, how do you feel?_

I… don't think I fully understand…

_Don't worry. It will become more obvious over time._

Right… I also can't say I'm happy about your presence, and especially about your methods. But I understand why you're here, and I appreciate the help.

_I'm glad we have an understanding. Any last questions?_

Two things. First, where are we?

_You're still unconscious in the real world, so we're having this conversation in your brainspace. That's why you're not breathing._

I paused to check. Yep, I definitely wasn't breathing.

Second thing. How did you get control of my body?

_There are things which man was never meant to know._

I would have facepalmed if I wasn't a disembodied bundle of thoughts. Fine, Lyra. I'll deal with not having that explanation for now.

_I'm glad you understand. We're good, right?_

I guess so. Things won't be the same, but we're good.

_Cool. You need to be getting back to the real world now. See you back in reality._

Like that, I felt myself falling, and the endless blackness seemed to consume me.

* * *

"Urgh…"

My mind was slowly getting clearer. It felt like I'd been asleep for months.

I felt a sense of déja vu. This was exactly like when I'd woken up in hospital a few days back, wasn't it?

With effort, I unscrewed my eyes. Everything was white. Hospital. Yep, just like last time. It even looked like the same ward.

"You're awake!" Huh. A girl. So Junpei wasn't here this time. I turned to see Yukari, looking both relieved and concerned. "Um, how do you feel…?"

I let out a yawn. "Alright, given my chest exploded."

Yukari frowned. "You shouldn't joke about that. I mean, I did see what happened after you… you know. Do you really think you can trust her? She did almost kill you, and none of us know who or what she is…"

_I'm right here, you know._

I flinched at the voice, but I resisted the urge to hide beneath the covers.

I steadied my breathing. "It's alright. We… talked things over, while I was unconscious. I still don't really know what she is, but I think she wants to help in her own, twisted way."

Yukari blinked in shock. "Really? You're trusting her? But, but… what if next time, she just straight out kills you?"

"I'll just have to deal with it. Besides, didn't she save your life?"

"Well, but… but… that's not the point!" Yukari flustered. "The point is that you shouldn't be putting yourself in unnecessary danger! You can't die…" Her voice trailed off.

"Don't worry about me. Everything's going to be fine."

"Sorry… I don't know… not usually this emotional… sorry…" There was pain in her voice.

I sat up and gave her a hug.

She collapsed and started weeping into my shoulder.

_You know, this would be the perfect time to make your move._

Shut up, Lyra.

_Just saying. She obviously cares for you, and she's emotionally vulnerable. Go get her._

No. Just… no. I am not going to take advantage of her, and I am certainly not going to be listening to… whatever you are, for romantic advice.

_Fine._

"Thanks, Minato." Yukari had stopped crying, and was wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. I let her go. "Just… make sure to be careful, alright?"

"Don't worry. I will. By the way, did Mitsuru give you the file? You did give her a gender."

Yukari sniffled. "Yeah… she gave it to me last night… oh, you've been out for two days. Like last time, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you. This time, we just told the school you were sick. I think they believed it.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh, your records." She gave a small chuckle. "Forty million yen?"

I shrugged. "I listened to Lyra a lot. There was no-one else to talk to. Now I actually have friends, I don't think I'll be burning as much stuff."

_Hey, I resent that._

Yukari briefly smiled, but then her face fell again. "By the way, I saw what happened to your parents. I… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."

She smiled again, and this one stayed. "Thanks, Minato. I, uh… I wanted to tell you that… I'm sort of like you."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"My dad died in an accident when I was little, and I'm not exactly on good terms with my mom… you're all alone too, right?"

I paused. "At school, you always seemed so happy…"

Her face fell. "Maybe… but I always felt that none of my 'friends' knew the truth about me… I don't know why, but I feel I can tell you this."

I smiled, to cheer her up. "Don't worry. You're not alone. I'm here for you, if you need me. I'll listen."

Her smile reappeared and her mood perked up. "Thanks… it was ten years ago." That was an odd coincidence – her dad dying at about the same time and in about the same place as my parents – but I made no comment. "There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but no-one really knows what happened. They say he was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group…"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Kirijo Group? As in, Mitsuru Kirijo?"

Yukari seemed surprised. "You didn't know? Mitsuru's family owns one of the biggest corporations in the world. They say it's impossible to find anyone who hasn't heard of them. Except, I just found one…"

I shrugged. "So you think they might have had role in your dad's death?"

"Exactly. Honestly, when Akihiko told me that Mitsuru was involved, that was why I joined. I'm hoping that if I stick around long enough, I'll find out something. Don't tell Mitsuru or anyone, alright?"

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks. It's good to have someone to rely on. I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time." She paused, and her face fell, and she stared at the floor. "I'm sorry I wasn't much help in Tartarus… if I hadn't been such a coward, none of that stuff with her would have had to happen…"

I took her hand. "It wasn't your fault."

_It totally was._

I ignored Lyra and continued. "Next time, you'll be able to do it. I'm sure of it."

She looked into my eyes. "Thanks, Minato… I really get the feeling you're looking out for me. And, I feel you understand my problems as well… at least, that's what I think. Could it just be wishful thinking…?"

Was that a blush forming on her cheeks?

_**Crack.**_

_**Thou art I… and I am thou…**_

A man and a woman standing under a tree-turned-giant-heart, with _VI_ underneath.

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Lovers Arcana…**_

_Lovers. Minato, you sly dog._

I really needed to look up these Arcana.

"Um…" Yukari suddenly bolted upright, pulling her hand from mine. "Alright… I'm going to get going. I'll… tell the others you're up. Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient! And… call the nurse. She'll take good care of you. I'm sure. Okay, bye!" She sped off, door slamming behind her.

_She's only known you what, five days? She's already completely into you. You have so got this._

I ignored Lyra's comment and fell back down onto my hospital bed. In a few minutes, I dozed off again.

* * *

The doctors were concerned about how soon I returned to hospital after being discharged, and advised me to stay for another night so they could do more tests. I ignored them. Thus, after signing another pile of forms, I was walking out the hospital's front gates again.

It was still the afternoon, and I was feeling peckish, so I decided to look for that ramen restaurant. What was it called? Haga-something or other?

Thirty minutes later, I made a mental note to buy a map.

I eventually found myself in some sort of plaza. A bright, clear fountain stood in the centre, next to a large sign reading 'Paulownia Mall'. I remembered this place as where Yukari took me for that coffee. Yep, there was Café Chagall, next to what looked like a nightclub. Other shops and businesses lined the back of the mall; the front was bordered by two more large fountains. An oddly familiar blue glow seemed to emanate from an alley underneath a karaoke bar.

Wait. Was that blue glow…?

As I approached the alley, I felt a familiar heaviness in one of my pockets. That would mean… yep, there was that blue door again, right in the alley.

Why was there an entrance here as well?

Eh. It's not a real room. It doesn't have to obey reality.

Well, I needed to talk to Igor, so I pulled out the Velvet Key and opened the door.

"Ah, there you are. Welcome back," the long-nosed man greeted me. "I'd been meaning to speak to you."

I took my usual seat. "Yeah. Wildness. Please explain."

Of course, Igor gave a creepy grin. "Of course. Let me start from the beginning. Do you remember what I told you? That you are a wild card?"

I nodded, and he continued. "In essence, the wild card embodies unpredictability. Thus, your power being wilder than expected simply means that it is a little more… chaotic than it otherwise be. Hence, it is difficult to predict what your Personas may do, if they do not spontaneously decay." Igor's grin grew into something even less stable.

"Yes, your power is full of chaos. Your potential may be beyond that of all others, but if you try subjugate your power and bring it to law, only destruction will follow. To use to full extent of your powers, you must embrace the chaos and let it flow. Do you understand?"

I stared at him blankly before I realised he wanted me to speak again. "Not really."

Igor's smile grew again, so it seemed to consume his face. "Precisely. Do not seek understanding, but instead embrace the chaos. Then will your true power come about once and for all."

I still had no idea what Igor was telling me to do.

His expression suddenly turned serious. "I am afraid I have little other help to offer you. I believe you already have a special advisor at hand."

I sighed. That would be Lyra. If Igor was being this cryptic, I would have to listen to her, even if she wanted to rip my head off.

Igor gave a calm smile. "Under other circumstances, I would have been able to offer countless other services, and you always would have been welcome here. However, with your power, I believe that my abilities would not hold weight, and would prove insufficient to aid you. Instead, I will offer you two books. This is the first."

He handed me a bright yellow book with a large black stripe on it. I stared at it incredulously.

"Persona Fusion… for Dummies."

"Indeed. You are an observant one. My assistance would have been to fuse your Personas into new, more powerful ones. However, with the level of instability inherent within your power, I believe this task would have proved impossible for me. This book will allow you to undertake this vital service by yourself. As for the second…" He snapped his fingers, and the silent blonde in the corner suddenly jumped to attention.

She handed me a heavy grimoire, bound in blue leather.

"This is the Necronomicon," she began. Her voice was peculiar; it sort of reminded me of a cat or tiger, ready to pounce. "It is bound by the skin of those who failed to complete their contracts."

I blinked several times slowly, trying to comprehend what she had just said. "Erm… what?"

Igor rolled his eyes, and she giggled. "Do not worry. It was merely a jest. I can assure you, we will not be the ones interested in taking your skin."

That statement also wasn't the most comforting, but she continued. "In truth, this is the Persona Compendium. It provides a record of every Persona you use on your journey. Currently, almost all entries are unfilled, but you will be able to fill them over time. Ordinarily, I would have charged a fee for using this, but given how often you will be losing access to your Personas upon their explodings, I judged that too harsh. Hence, I give it to you for free." She smiled, in an only slightly unnerving manner.

I flicked through the new book. As she suggested, almost all the pages were blank. "Thanks, but how do I use this?"

Her eyes gave an odd flicker. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find the user interface very intuitive."

I resisted the urge to brain myself with the new books. "Right. I'll assume the other one teaches me everything I need from the beginning. One thing, though. If all my Personas are going to keep exploding, how do I stop those explosions from not blowing me up?"

"I will let you find that out for yourself," Igor answered. I facepalmed.

"If I may have a suggestion," Elizabeth added, "Stay behind the yellow line, keep away from the edge of the platform and mind the oncoming train."

Again, I had no idea how to respond. Silence filled the room.

Igor cleared his throat. "Ahem. Now we have given you those two books, I am afraid we are out of time. I believe this may be the last time we ever meet. Now, then, I bid you…"

"Master, wait!" Elizabeth suddenly squeaked up. "I had some favours to ask of our new guest…"

Igor gave a resigned sigh. "Very well. You may bother him with your requests. I will leave the Velvet Room in your care." With that, he stood up and disappeared.

Elizabeth smiled and looked into my eyes. "Forgive him. He wished to keep that Compendium within the confines of this room. It is a powerful tool, and your power is dangerous enough without it.

"But anyways, it has been quite some time since I had a visitor worthy of my attention. If you don't mind, would you accept these requests of mine? Of course, I will make sure you are well compensated for your efforts."

She stared at me expectantly, almost like a sad puppy, and I found myself unable to say no. I meekly nodded.

"Wonderful! Here are the first nine." She flooded me with a stack of papers. "I anxiously await your cooperation."

Barely holding onto everything, I staggered out of the Velvet Room.

Lyra, can you please just explain what Igor just said?

_Basically, your power is similar to a sealed box with a bomb and a chocolate bar inside. Opening the box will detonate the bomb, killing you. You have to get the chocolate without dying._

Why is everything trying to kill me?

_Nothing's trying to kill you specifically. The shadows want to kill everyone, your power will only kill you unintentionally, and I'm only going to inflict grievous bodily harm on you._

Part of me wanted to curl up and die.

_Cheer up. Remember what you'd always do when you felt this shit?_

Go burn stuff?

_Exactly. And do you remember where there's lots of stuff to burn?_

Tartarus.

_You got it! Catharsis is great!_

Maybe setting fire to something would help my mood.


	8. Chapter 7: Endeavour

After buying a map of the city, I began to make my way back to the dorm. News of my discharge from hospital had arrived before me, which was why everyone was there to check whether I was alright or not.

"I'm fine. I think we should go to Tartarus."

There was silence.

"Honestly, I'm not feeling great, and I just want to burn something."

As a result, come the Dark Hour, I was walking through Tartarus with my makeshift flamethrower, torching every shadow I could see. It had taken some more effort, but I'd convinced everyone else to let me wander through a couple of floors alone: I wasn't in the mood for conversation with anyone, and the less friendly fire the better. Junpei and Yukari had seemed worried at my decision and at what caused my mood, but they seemed to understand that I needed some time to myself.

As another Cowardly Maya burnt to cinders, another set of cards appeared around my head. I smashed one at random. Huh. There was that up-arm-into-brain worming sensation. New Persona.

_Angel, of the Justice Arcana. If you wanted to know._

Right. All the other ones I found earlier on this trip exploded immediately on summoning. I'll assume this one's the same.

Mitsuru's voice crackled in over the comm. "Arisato, the stairs are just ahead. Make sure not to exhaust yourself."

"Got it." While I was beginning to feel sleepy, my body still felt fine overall (flamethrowers weren't anywhere near as tiring to use as swords). One more floor would be fine.

The next floor – the fifth, if I counted correctly – seemed different. I entered a large square hall, with one corridor leaving the back of the room. The main sense of the room was of regularity, rather than the chaotic mess the first four floors had been.

"Hold on," Mitsuru spoke up. "I'm detecting some unusual readings. There seem to be three shadows in the middle of the floor, blocking the way forward. You'll have to defeat them to progress."

"Wait. There's something here…" In the corner of the hallway was some sort of odd green machine, with a single button, a large slider, and a glowing light. Adjusting the slider changed the colour of the light: for most of the settings, the light was white. The light turned red on the second-lowest setting, and turned green on the very lowest.

The green light probably meant something would happen. Dimly aware of Mitsuru advising caution about this machine, I pressed the button.

The light enveloped me, and for a brief moment, my body felt entirely like (for lack of better description) soup. Afterwards, the light faded, and my surroundings changed: I was now back in the lobby, staring at a confused Mitsuru, Junpei, Yukari and Akihiko.

In front of me was another green machine with the same controls – I'd noticed this on the first trip to Tartarus, hadn't I? Instinctively I turned the light to green (second-lowest position this time) and pressed the button.

My body felt like soup again, and I was back of the fifth floor.

I pressed the button again, my body felt like soup again, and I was back in the lobby.

Button, soup, fifth floor. Button, soup, lobby.

"I think this is a teleporter."

_No shit, Sherlock._

Shut up, Lyra.

Mitsuru seemed skeptical, so I stepped aside to let her try it. Yep, she disappeared when she pressed the button. She returned moments later, looking slightly shaken, but largely enlightened.

"Arisato is right. This took me to the floor where he just was; I detected the same three shadows on the floor. If there are additional machines like this further up Tartarus, our exploration would be made much easier."

Junpei seemed to light up. "A teleporter? Cool! Let me try." Mitsuru returned to me monitoring post, and Junpei pressed the button.

He reappeared shortly, looking substantially more dazed than Mitsuru had. "Whoa… that felt… trippy…"

I smiled at him. "How did you find it? For me, soup came to mind."

With a chuckle, he seemed to break out of his stupor. "Soup? I feel where you're coming from, but it felt more than that. It felt like… time? I don't know. Yuka-tan, you have to try!" He grabbed Yukari by the arm and, ignoring her objections, rammed her hand into the button.

Both of them disappeared. Huh. I mean, it didn't seem extraordinary that multiple people could be transported at once, but what if…

Before I could finish the thought, both of them returned, Junpei looking dazed again, Yukari more nauseated. "Urgh… my head… did you really have to make me do that, Stupei?"

"Well, we'll all be having to use it sooner or later, if we're going to be exploring this place. How do you feel?"

"How do I feel? I feel like someone rammed a spike into my brain! But I kinda get what you and Minato-san felt. And… Minato, why are you smiling?"

I'd finished my earlier line of thought. "Well, it could have been worse."

At her (and Junpei's) puzzled expression, I continued. "You know, a teleporter roughly works by turning you into information, moving that info and reforming you. But what if something could have gone wrong?"

A glimmer of fear appeared in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, two streams of data had to be transferred. What if something went wrong in the transfer? What if, for instance, your mind had been transferred into Junpei's body?"

She gave a garbed shriek, and gibbered some vague sounds of denial. Junpei laughed as well. While I probably shouldn't have been enjoying this as much I was, I pressed on anyway. "There's more. What do you think Junpei would have if he'd been in your body?"

Something briefly lit up in Junpei's eyes, that was rapidly quashed by a foaming Yukari clawing his face and screaming various insults. "Don't even think about it!", "Pervert!", and "I will rip you a new one!" were highlights.

I would have laughed, had Mitsuru not dragged me off by the ear. "What you suggest could be troubling, Arisato. I will need you and Akihiko to test this possibility of yours."

Akihiko made some voice to protest, but fell silent at Mitsuru's cold, deadly gaze. We both meekly agreed to be test subjects.

After some fifty trips, neither of us had accidentally been detached from their body, lost a limb, grew a limb, exploded, imploded, gone mute, deaf, dumb or blind, or any other possible complication from teleportation. By the time we were done, Yukari and Junpei had calmed back down, damage limited to a few small scratches on Junpei's face.

"We can assume that accidents involving this teleporter will be minimal," Mitsuru spoke. "As such, this will be a great aid on our exploration of Tartarus."

Akihiko smirked and looked upwards, presumably towards the peak. "You got that right."

Junpei gave a light chuckle. "Sure beats walking."

Yukari gave a nervous laugh. "Just as no-one gets my body…"

I interrupted. "I'd rather keep my own. I, for one, like using urinals."

_Toilet humour. To think, I once had respect for you._

Unsurprisingly, that created a slap to the face from Yukari, a reprimand from Mitsuru, then a gentle wave of laughter from all around.

_**Crack.**_

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Fool Arcana…**_

Huh. No floating card, and no 'I am you etc.' line. I'm guessing that's because I'm only strengthening a bond, not making a new one.

"Anyway, returning to the matters at hand." Mitsuru's voice returned me to reality. "Arisato, you seem to have returned to your usual self. There are fifteen minutes of this Dark Hour left. What would you like to do?"

It didn't take me long to make my decision. "Fifteen minutes should be fine for three shadows, and our new teleporter can get us out quickly. We'll do one more floor. Junpei, Yukari, come with me."

The two of them looked relieved at my improved mood. We gathered together and warped up to the fifth floor.

We found the three waiting shadows in the corridor. They were larger than the typical shadows on the lower floors. Each of them resembled a black-feathered, keen-taloned eagle, but with a whitish mask in place of its head and beak. They simply hovered there, as if waiting for us to make the first move.

Three on three felt like a fair fight.

"Alright. Mitsuru… sempai," I began (honorifics were really annoying to remember), "I need a scan of these shadows as soon as possible." I turned to face my teammates. "Yukari, stay back and heal us if necessary. Blast them with wind if you get the chance. I'm going to torch them. Junpei, use fire and try not to get too close, so I don't burn you. Got it?"

They both gave a curt nod, and readied their evokers.

Alright. Let's do this.

I turned back towards the shadows. Pulling out my last can of deodorant and my trusty lighter, I torched the nearest shadow for a good ten seconds. I also heard to gunshots behind me, followed by the second eagle also being doused in flame, and the third being hit by a blast of wind.

I briefly turned off my flamethrower to check the damage.

There wasn't any. Huh. Usually, even the fire-resistant shadows had a few scorch marks on them by now.

I continued torching the nearest shadow. Still nothing seemed to happen.

"They're Venus Eagles!" Mitsuru shouted over the comm. "They're immune to fire and wind attacks!"

…

Well, shit.

The shadows seemed to get bored and started attacking. They began to beat their black wings, and a deluge of cold and wind swept toward us. An incredibly concentrated blast managed to knock Junpei over.

"Yukari, make sure he's okay!" I dropped my useless flamethrower and pulled out my sword. I dived headlong into the wind and charged the nearest eagle.

It seemed surprised at my frontal assault, and before it could fly away, I'd sliced the tip of its wing clean off. Squawking wildly, it collapsed to the ground, where I slashed it to pieces.

Another squawk. I looked up. A second eagle was barrelling straight towards me. I barely rolled out the way, and while I was off balance, the remaining eagles took the opportunity to retreat near the ceiling. Well, that meant no more stabbing. From their new vantage point, cold and wind continued to pile down on us. Slowly, the cold began numbing away at our bodies, sapping away our strength.

"Yukari, can you try shoot them down?" Despite one eagle now being dead, the wind seemed to have increased in intensity, and it was a struggle to get my voice across.

"I already tried!" She shouted in reply. "The wind makes it impossible to aim!"

That wasn't an option, then. What else…

"Hermes!" Huh. When had Junpei got back up? "Assault Dive!"

With another bang that pierced the wind, the majestic blue-and-gold figure of Hermes appeared. He stood still for half a second, before taking off like a missile and careening towards the second shadow.

The shadow failed to get out the way in time, and Hermes rammed straight into it. With a damp, wet ripping sound, Hermes' visored head plunged into the belly of the eagle and emerged from its back. A moment later, both Persona and shadow faded into mist.

The last shadow gave an unearthly shriek, with a quality not quite like any conventional musical note. With that shriek, its wings began beating even harder, and the cold wind redoubled its strength, this time accompanied by driving fleets of snow.

I could barely make out Junpei's silhouette through the blizzard. Again his evoker was pressed to his head, and again the shape of Hermes appeared. Again it rushed towards the shadow.

This time, though, the shadow was ready. It redirected the wind towards the encroaching shape, causing Hermes to crash into the wall, no damage done.

Okay… other options. Fire, no, wind, no, swords, no, bows, no, Junpei, no… Yukari? Maybe her Persona could be used like a missile as well?

"Yukari!" I shouted. I was promptly tapped on the shoulder by the brunette in question. When had she got so close?

"I think it's trying to round us up!" she yelled over the wind. Junpei soon staggered up to us, proving that hypothesis.

This felt bad. I tried to move away, back in the direction we came. The wind proved impassable, and I was blown back immediately. Well, that meant retreat was cut off as well. If we couldn't take this thing out, we'd be sitting ducks, and this blizzard would sap all our strength. Then the last shadow could move in for the kill with its talons or something. In any case, we'd be dead.

Yukari briefly summoned Io to attempt to use as a missile, but she her flight through the air was inelegant and clumsy, and she was blow away more easily than Hermes had been. Other options… two missiles?

Hermes and Io both charged again, and were both blown away again. However, the eagle seemed only able to blow away one incoming thing at a time, which meant that Io had gotten closer than I'd hoped. I guessed that if we somehow had a third missile, we'd be able to take it out. Additionally, while the eagle had been preoccupied, the wind had died down slightly. Of course, the wind had immediately strengthened again, but that gave us a small window of opportunity to spread out, if needed.

Now, where to get a third, large missile…

_I'm right here, you know._

Erm… no. I'd rather not cover my friends' clothes in my blood. I'll look for some other options first, thanks.

_Fine then. The other option would be your own Personas._

Alright. Let's see. "Pied Piper!"

He appeared, then disappeared. I assume he played something on his flute, but it was lost in the wind.

Let's try that again, shall we? "Pied Piper! Ram that eagle, will you?"

Instead of him appearing, another voice echoed in my mind.

**Nah. I don't really want to. Maybe another time.**

There's not going to be another time! I pulled the trigger several more times.

Absolutely nothing happened.

Well, that had been pointless. Okay… was there anything I actually do without exploding bits of my body again?

_You have another Persona, you know._

Right. Which will blow us all up when I summon it.

_Hey, it's not the explosion which rips you to pieces. It's the shrapnel, and I doubt any shrapnel would be significantly harmful to you. The ice cuts from that last explosion healed up fine, didn't they?_

Fine, but we'll still all be sent flying…

Flying. Huh. The plan was stupid, but it might just work.

_You, my good sir, are an idiot. If this plan works, I'm not sure whether to praise or criticise you._

I grinned. "Yukari! Junpei! Do that missile-thing again! When the wind dies down, back away as quickly as possible, then follow my lead!"

Yukari seemed hesitant at my plan, but Junpei immediately pressed his evoker to his head and called forth Hermes, who again dashed towards the shadow. He was quickly followed by Io.

The shadow redirected the winds toward the approaching objects, beginning to blow Hermes to one side. Yukari and Junpei took the opportunity to back away, back towards the entrance.

This was it. I had one chance, which even then probably wouldn't work. Well, better to have some chance than none at all.

I cocked my evoker. "Angel!"

With a bang, a new silhouette began to form. Seemingly a young blonde woman, a pair of golden wings sprouted out of her back. More unexpected was how she wore little more than some leather strips, including a blindfold and a chained collar.

I didn't have to dwell on her dress sense. I yanked her down onto the floor and jumped on top of her.

Somewhere above, something crashed into a wall.

Let's hope this works.

Angel exploded. That was the first step.

I think the raw force of the explosion cracked some of my bones, or at least dislocated a joint or two. Okay, that hadn't been part of the plan.

I felt myself flying through the air. I'm pretty sure I ragdolled. Here's hoping I crash into the right thing…

I think that was the ceiling I just rammed into. That wasn't meant to happen. I've definitely broken something, and dislodged something else.

Okay, falling now… wait, something's slowing my descent. Black and feathery, and making odd squawking noises… it's the shadow, isn't it? Well, at least this was roughly in the plan.

I've stopped falling. Yep, definitely broken something. The shadow's still thrashing under me. That can't be good for whatever I've broken. Okay, I'm hearing footsteps… and now that sounds like a knife slicing meat.

The shadow faded into a puddle, and I fell to the ground. Was I staring at the floor or the ceiling? I couldn't really quite tell…

Pain. Something was touching me, right where I'd broken something. I urghed. More pain, more things touching me. I was dragged up to a sitting position. Two people were in front of me. Some guy in a cap, and a girl in a cardigan. They made some noises. I urghed again.

A loud bang. Something else appeared. It glowed. I glowed. I felt weird. It felt weird, but it was still soothing. When I stopped glowing, I hurt less and my head felt clearer. I knew these people, didn't I?

"Dude, can you hear me?" I knew that voice. Who was it… who was it…

"We should get him out first. We can treat him in the lobby." I knew that girl's voice as well, didn't I? Minato, you know this! They're your friends! Stop being so dazed and just remember!

"Ju…Junpei? Yu…Yukari?"

The two of them looked at me in some mixture of shock and relief. "Dude, speak to me. Are you alright?"

"I… no. Something's broken, and something's not right."

A voice filtered in through an earpiece. "Get him down to the lobby, now." That was… Mitsuru, wasn't it? "We can treat him more effectively with more healers."

The two of them helped me to my feet, each step pain. It felt like eternity to get back to the teleporter. After we passed through, I collapsed again.

I was gently rolled onto my back. I heard several loud bangs, and I felt glowy again. The pain was beginning to dissipate, and my head felt clear now. I'd been in Tartarus, and I'd just used myself as a ballistic missile.

I managed to sit up by myself. At my improved condition, the healing stopped. Everyone was standing around me, all looking concerned.

"Could one of you explain what happened?" Mitsuru asked. "The wind cut off the signal, so I don't know."

I gave a light cough, to show I wanted to speak. "There were three shadows, as you know. We dealt with the first easily, and the second by using Junpei's Persona as a missile. The last one, however, managed to trap us. We needed to defeat it, but one Persona-missile wasn't working. Two didn't work either. I guessed we would need three projectiles, so I decided to use myself as the third, with one of my Personas exploding as the propulsion."

Mitsuru held her silence for some time as she thought over what I said. Finally she spoke. "I understand why you did what you did, Arisato. However, as the leader of SEES, I have to condemn what you did as reckless and excessively dangerous. There were too many unknowns. What if you'd missed the shadow? What if three hadn't been enough, and it had dealt with you in the same manner? What if you had suffered more injuries than you already have? Now we have to get you back to the hospital to see what you've broken. It was reckless, and I don't expect you to do it again." She finished with a cold glare.

Ordinarily, I would have shied away and grovelled. At that moment, though (probably due to pain or too many healing spells or something), I wanted to ramble. "May I speak, Mitsuru? Sempai?"

Slightly puzzled, she gave a slight nod, and I began. "I think there's one other big thing to note here. Sure, I did what I did out of necessity, and it was reckless, and in all honesty I didn't think it would work. But that's the thing: it did work. Last time, my power was pretty useless. Earlier today, it was also useless. Now, it's actually done something useful. To me at least, that knowledge, that my power isn't completely useless: that feels like the biggest victory of all today."

Mitsuru briefly looked lost in thought. "You have a point, Arisato," she conceded. "I will need some time to decide on the most appropriate course of action."

I nodded. I wasn't sure what she'd meant, but at least my point seemed to have been transferred across.

_**Crack.**_

Eh?

_**Thou art I… and I am Thou…**_

A new Social Link. Who was it with? Well, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only ones here who I didn't have one with already, so it's probably one of them. More likely to be Mitsuru, given that I just talked to her.

The card appeared. It had a man with a bindle and a dog on it, wandering aimlessly. In fact, it was the same image as the one I'd seen on that 'Fool Arcana' card, except the man on the card was facing the other way, and the border was golden instead of the dull blue it had been all the previous times. Also, the number beneath wasn't zero, but the Roman Numeral _XXII_.

Okay, while I didn't know my Arcana, this didn't seem representative of Mitsuru or Akihiko.

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the True Fool Arcana…**_

Yeah, this probably wasn't Mitsuru or Akihiko. Who else would it be?

_There were five people in the room excluding me, and you didn't have a Social Link with three of them._

Three people…?

Wait.

_You get it now._

Had I just formed a Social Link with myself?


	9. Chapter 8: Disposition

Summary of damage: one dislocated shoulder (left), one broken ulna (left), one dislodged patella (right), one twisted knee (right), two cracked vertebra (both thoracic), and seven cracked ribs (various), not to mention all the various bits of bruising. Everyone's various healing efforts had taken the edge off everything, which is why I ended up going to school the next morning instead of spending another day in hospital, but it would still be a few days before my bones were back up to scratch.

"Look, he's back…"

"He can't have been ill this time… it must have been something…"

"This whole 'mental issues' thing just has to be some sort of cover up! I won't stop until I reach the truth!"

Moronic rumours aside, the morning was uneventful. Junpei came up to me during the lunch hour. "'Sup, dude? Feeling better after last night?"

I groaned. "Everything still hurts. I mean, I'm not dying, but couldn't I just have one day off?"

Junpei gave a light laugh. "For the record, I thought it was cool. Reckless and dangerous, but still freakin' badass! And I feel your pain. The first couple of nights for me were hell as well."

That helped warm my mood, and it also reminded me of something. "I meant to ask you: how long have you been doing this? You seemed to have some previous experience of Tartarus."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I joined, what, two years ago? Mitsuru, Akihiko and a third guy were already there. We tried to explore Tartarus, but we didn't get very far, mostly because me and the other guy kept butting heads. I can't really give any more details. Mitsuru had most of what happened classified under pain of execution." He gave a visible shudder.

I decided to quickly change the subject. "How's living with Akihiko and Mitsuru been for two years?"

He snapped of his minor fit and shrugged again. "Honestly, kinda dull. They spent most of their time on school and admin, and mostly ignored me. Everyone seemed to envy me, though, living with the guy that everyone wants to be, and the girl everyone wants to be with. And now Yuka-tan's in as well." He gave an exasperated sigh.

I was puzzled. "Sorry, but how is that a problem? You just said you're hanging around with some of the most popular people in school. Even if they ignore you, can't you pretend they don't, and scam things from other people anyway?"

His eyes flashed back up, and he gave a small laugh. "Not a bad idea. You can do it. I guess that I just thought none of that ever really mattered to me."

"So what does matter to you?"

Junpei fell silent. "I don't know. That was part of why I joined, two years ago. To find something that mattered. I still haven't found it."

Another silence filled the air.

"You'll find it eventually. I know you will."

He smiled. "Glad to have you on my side, Minato. Remind me to thank you for that."

"No problem, dude." We shared a manly brofist.

_**Crack.**_

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Magician Arcana…**_

"Anyway, you're probably busy with your own stuff…" Junpei began.

"Not really," I interrupted. "There's not much homework, and I'm not in any clubs yet, so I don't really have anything to do."

Junpei blinked at me in mild surprise. "Huh. Wait, that was also why I wanted to talk to you. The tryouts for the sports teams are tomorrow. You thinking of joining any?"

"Yes… actually, right now, that would be a really bad idea. Cracked ribs and all that."

He gave an empathetic sigh. "That's a bummer. You would have done great in kendo or something. Anyway, I'm now the baseball team's pack mule, so I have to carry some stuff over for tomorrow. I'll see you around." He left with a wave.

That did raise an issue, though. This year, how would I end up spending my free time?

_I'm still here, you know._

I know, Lyra, but I never spent that much time talking to you. In fact, what did I usually do?

_Eat, sleep, and play trading card games. Oh, and arson._

I felt like I should probably get some new hobbies.

* * *

With everyone else staying back to sort out things for the sports teams tomorrow, I decided to go back to the dorm early and do some admin of my own.

First: sort out new phone. Music had always made burning things more satisfying, and I wanted to have that bonus in Tartarus as well.

Second: look up Arcana. Wikipedia and a quick search managed to turn up all the things I needed. Twenty-two Arcana, from Fool to Fool, with a basic understanding of what each of them meant.

Next: check Elizabeth's requests. Most of them seemed simple enough: kill some beetle thing, explore Tartarus to find some stuff, take her out to the real world, those types of things. Most seemed simple enough.

One of them, though, involved fusing a Persona. Urgh.

_You're going to have to learn it at some point. Who knows? Maybe not all of them will explode immediately._

Sighing, I picked up the bright yellow book lying on my desk and began slowly reading.

The text was small, but the preface was easy enough to understand. As for the actual content…

'Definition Four: The Primary Quantum of a Persona is its Quantum with the highest density of Electromagnetic Severance Flux per unit 4-Radian, after normalisation. Secondary, Tertiary and subsequent Quanta are defined similarly.'

That was halfway down the first page. I flicked forward to see whether the book became any more understandable.

'Corollary Sixteen: observe that by applying Proposition Eight to the Median Glore of the Personas used in the Complex Fusion, the Glaucic Concentration of the Intermediate Supercelestial Corona can be halved. This is critical in making sure the resulting Persona is actually stable, as follows from the definition of Glaucic Concentration.'

Urgh. How was this meant to be for dummies?

After three hours of slow reading, rereading and notemaking, I finally finished page two. I quickly turned to the back to see that the book had three thousand and twenty-seven pages. Okay, that many pages, at one-and-a-half hours a page, meant…

_Four thousand, five hundred and forty-and-a-half hours. In other words, just over half a year in continuous reading. Who knows? If you don't have any friends and force yourself to hardly sleep, you might just finish it by this time next year. Assuming your pace per page doesn't slow. Which it almost certainly will._

I let out a groan. There would be no way I'd finish this any time soon. The pictures didn't help either: they all depicted the Personas being fused as Tarot Cards. That would be fine if I knew how to actually turn them into those Cards in the first place.

I had a sudden, vicious urge to destroy something.

_Knock yourself out. It's always fun to watch you burn stuff._

What looked like an interesting place to burn? I skimmed over my map. Huh. There was a shrine nearby. I'd never destroyed a historical monument before.

Wait. If I was going to torch this shrine, I was going to do it properly, not with some crappy aerosol-based flamethrower. Where was the nearest petrol station? And where could I get some Jerry Cans?

Everything went fine to begin with. I couldn't find any garages nearby, but I obtained some metal watering cans from a nearby garden centre. The surveillance by the petrol station proved to be too much, so I syphoned some fuel from nearby cars with some garden hose (also from the garden centre). Flammable liquid in each hand, lighter in my pocket, smile on my face, I was skipping merrily towards the shrine, eager to rack up some more damage to the country.

And then, of course, a police officer had to come my way. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been a problem, except for three reasons: one, the garden centre had reported the theft of two watering cans and a length of garden hose; two, the smell of petrol from the cans was suspicious to say the least; and three (as I found out later), the police had registered me as a potentially dangerous, so every officer recognised my face and knew what I'd previously done.

Hence, I was waiting in the police station, waiting for someone else to pick me up.

The time passed in silence. The police milled about, all minding their own business, pointedly ignoring my presence.

_You know, it's sort of your fault that you're stuck here._

Shut up, Lyra. I don't want to talk.

Eventually, a familiar redheaded girl appeared before me. She was not pleased.

I gave a light smile. "Hey, Mitsuru… sempai…?"

If anything, her expression became even colder. I swear the air around her was freezing and falling to the ground in lumps.

I swallowed. Years of interviews with authorities had made me passable at reading faces. Usually, they wanted to intimidate, or to persuade, or to coerce.

Right now, Mitsuru's expression didn't want any of that. It called for death.

I tried to warm the situation, but anything I did seemed to make her crave my blood more. I finally settled for blank staring, waiting for her to speak.

The silence was deafening.

Expression unchanging, she began to speak. "Do you understand what you've done, Arisato?"

"Not burnt down anything?" Hopefully humour would defuse the situation... no, the air felt even colder now.

Her glare seemed to pierce deeper into my soul. "This is no laughing matter, Arisato. The police explained how they found you, and your intent was obvious enough. Last night was reckless, and I will continue to think about that, but this is on a whole new level. I will not tolerate such lunacy from members of SEES. There can be only one punishment for what you have done."

A cold sense of doom pervaded though my entire body, and it took every effort to not spontaneously run away, or collapse to the ground begging. Nothing would reason with her.

Her eyes narrowed, and one word came from her mouth. "Execution."

* * *

As a result of that night, I had persistent nightmares, I gained a deathly fear of the cold, I would never look at oysters the same way again, and I felt my soul break apart.

I may have been a moderate wreck at school tomorrow.

"I heard he got arrested by the police."

"Look at how beaten up he is. The police wouldn't have done that. At least, non-corrupt police officers wouldn't…"

"You see? Minato must have earned the displeasure of the criminal underground! We can't be seen near him, or they'll kill us too!"

That bothered me less than usual, mostly because I was trying hard to never blink. If I closed my eyes, the visions returned.

_Try not to get too worked up about it, Minato. Just move on._

The final bell rang. I sat there.

_Minato?_

"Arisato." The lurking fear that had lingered since last evening suddenly swept into every nook of my body, and I had to strain to not jump out of the nearest window.

I slowly turned to face her. "Yes, Mitsuru-sempai?" Do not forget the honorific. Do not piss her off more than necessary.

"Come with me. Now." She turned and left. I followed her as quickly as possible. Retribution could and would be dire.

When she heard my footsteps, she began speaking. "I've been speaking with the chairman. After some discussion, we decided it was necessary to temper your various impulses. As such, we have enlisted a psychologist for you." She made no effort to look at me.

I briefly considered telling her how none of the previous psychologists I'd had had worked, and how this would be an exercise in futility. Then I remembered she could execute me again, and I gulped and followed her in silence.

Eventually, we came to the nurse's office. "Arisato, meet Doctor Edogawa. Doctor Edogawa studied psychology at Tokyo University, and completed his doctorate at Harvard in the US. He has over twenty years of experience in the field, and is the most experience psychologist in the city. He's waiting for you." She walked away, still not looking at me.

Not entirely sure on the appropriate course of action, I swallowed and entered the room. The room was a nurse's office: simple, clean, well-lit, with numerous boxes of medicine and first-aid kits lying about. What was more interesting was the man sitting there. Tall, gangly, roughly shaven, he wore a white labcoat over a yellow T-shirt, with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. His skin had an incredibly dull quality, almost like rough leather. In his hands was a magazine entitled 'Occult Monthly'. All in all, he reminded me of someone who'd escaped an asylum. Was this really the man giving me mental advice? Evidently he was, as the nameplate on his desk read 'J. Edogawa'.

He looked up at me. "Kekeke…" This man didn't seem stable. "Welcome to the nurse's office. How can I help you? I assure you, one of these cures will work on your illness…"

"Erm… I was told you're a psychologist?"

"Kekeke…" That was seriously creepy. "So you are Minato Arisato. Many of my brethren speak your name only in hushed whispers. They say you are impossible to reason with, and can destroy people's minds with a single word. Would you like a seat?" He gestured towards a chair. I politely declined.

"Kekeke… We are here about your behaviour. Perhaps you would like to talk?"

"No, not really."

"Kekeke… Very well. You may leave." He turned back to his magazine.

I stood there blinking as I tried to process what just happened. "Was that it?"

"Hm? You're still here? Kekeke… I've seen all my colleagues' reports on you, Arisato. No matter what the chairman or Miss Kirijo may want, I can tell standard procedure with you will be a lost cause. If you ever decide you want to talk, my door is always open." He turned back to his magazine again.

Huh. That was unexpected. For a moment, I stood there. The torrent of fear had disappeared, only to be replaced again by the nagging dread from before. I still had no intention to blink.

_Come on, Minato. Positive outlook and all that? Remember what you used to do when you felt down?_

I walked back to the classroom and sat down until everyone had to leave.

* * *

I spent the next day sitting down and blankly staring into the air. That was also how I spent the following day. I would have spent the day after that the same way, but it was a Sunday, so I spent the day staring at the ceiling in my room instead.

_Minato…_ Several times I felt a voice like that try talk to me, but each time I ignored it.

On the next day, as I was staring blankly into space again, Yukari came up to me. "Minato-san, are you alright? You've been like this for a couple of days…"

I said nothing.

"Yuka-tan, I told you he's become a zombie. You don't know what Mitsuru's executions are like… I don't like admitting it, but I was kinda like this the first time. Hell, Akihiko was kinda like this the first time. We have to let him be."

I continued staring blankly.

Yukari sighed. "I was afraid of this. Well, I hope this works." She turned to her bag and began looking for something.

I held my silence.

"What're you looking for?"

"I was worried about him, so I got something which I thought would help. He mentioned it in passing. Got it!" She lifted something up and placed it on my desk.

Magic: the Gathering. Conflux. 15-Card Booster Pack. Age 13+.

"Yuka-tan, do you really think this will work?"

"Honestly, I doubt it, but I had to try. Maybe… just maybe…"

Silence continued to fill the room as I read the label again and again.

I stood up and gave Yukari a hug. "Thank you." Screw psychologists. In all my life, through however many bouts of depression and sadness I'd experienced, only two things had ever helped. The first was arson, and it had always been more effective, but the second? Trading cards. No idea why.

Yukari and Junpei probably made some comment, but I didn't notice. I was too busy ripping open the pack and fanning out the cards. Mmmm… new card smell.

Mythic Rare. Progenitus. Oh yes. Think of the awesome… I felt my soul returning.

_Finally. Only took about five days. Do you know how uninteresting sitting around here is while you're all weak and gibbery like a raw steak? This is all your fault._

How was this my fault? I was the one who was executed.

_And that was because you were going to go burn something down._

Only because you told me to.

_I didn't tell you to. You had the idea all by yourself, remember? I just told you to get on with it. You made the choice. Free will and all that._

Free will? Wait, was this all some plan for me to understand consequence or whatever we were talking about, back in my brainspace?

_Actually, I did want you to burn the shrine, just to see what would happen. But hey, now you understand that if you try burn something down, you're probably going to get executed again. You get that, right?_

I guess. So, given that I really don't want to get executed again, I should probably keep the pyromania to Tartarus.

_That makes sense. You're sort of beginning to understand all this. You know, that execution was one of the finest pieces of torture I've ever seen. Such creative use of oysters and paint thinner. Next time I'm inflicting body horrors on you, I might borrow some ideas from that._

…I hate you, Lyra.

_I wouldn't have it any other way._

The clack of heels turned me back to reality, and I turned to see Ms. Toriumi approaching. "I didn't know you were a fan, Arisato." I was still holding those trading cards, wasn't I? "You know, if you're interested, the school has an unofficial Magic: the Gathering Club. I'm the teacher in charge. You're free to join."

I couldn't agree fast enough. "Count me in. What day, what time, and what room?"

I think I saw my friends smiling at how my mood had returned.

* * *

That evening, I gathered enough courage to grovel to Mitsuru for forgiveness. I'm sorry, keep the fire in Tartarus, the psychologist is really definitely absolutely helping massively, blah, etc., blah. That was the gist of it. She seemed pleased enough at my penance, and wrote off any further punishments.

I still felt the need to try appease her more, so I convinced everyone to briefly go to Tartarus again. My bones had sufficiently healed to go back to fighting (hooray for healing spells), but Akihiko was still sidelined (apparently, the same healing spells weren't as effective on quintuple arm fractures). Nevertheless, the regular shadows were simple enough: flamethrower everything I could, get Junpei to finish off what was needed, and have Yukari heal. Honestly, I was surprised I was still the leader, but I was getting used to it.

Along the way, the variety of shadows we fought increased. In particular, there were some giant beetle-things which I remembered Elizabeth wanted me to kill. The problem was she wanted me to bring a carapace to her as proof, and I had no idea how to transport something that was actually larger than I was. I had to leave it behind, sighing at the wasted effort.

Another thing: the floating cards didn't only create money and new Personas (on testing, any new Personas I found still exploded). Sometimes, I felt the weird tingling of being healed, or some other weird tingling that somehow made all of us feel stronger, and once physics seemed to evaporate completely as a whole sword materialised from thin air. That new sword was the one I was using now, having given to old one to Yukari for close combat – not that she could use it well. The one time she tried to use it, she almost cut off her own foot. I'm not sure how.

We'd climbed onto the tenth floor (surprisingly similar to the fifth floor) when Mitsuru chattered in over the intercom. "I detect three shadows in your path. You'll need to defeat them to move on."

"Dude, there's another teleporter-thing here. Check it out!" Junpei had indeed found another green machine. He pressed the button, disappeared, then reappeared. "Yeah. Definitely a teleporter."

I quickly examined it. The interface was the same as the other two, except the light was differently coloured on various settings. Now it was red on the third-lowest, green on the two lower, and white on the rest.

Huh. This was the third teleporter we'd found, and the light was red on the third-lowest setting. That fit the pattern on the lower two teleporters as well. Could it be…

_You don't have to spell it out, Captain Obvious. I bet everyone else already had it figured out by now._

Shut up, Lyra.

"Okay. We'll get these shadows out of the way for next time, then we'll leave. The Dark Hour should be ending soon, anyway."

"Um, Minato-san…" I turned to face Yukari. "Remember what happened last time? Maybe we should do this when we come here next time, so we're fresh for this."

I scratched my head. "You have a point, but this time we have experience. We should be fine. Same initial plan as last time. Mitsuru-sempai, I need a scan. I torch, don't get too close. Okay?"

Junpei understood. Yukari seemed doubtful, but she readied her bow. I walked down the corridor and approached the shadows. They appeared to be some floating hands, each with a head and mask connected to the wrist in place of an arm. They reminded me of similar, smaller shadows we'd seen on our way up.

Smiling, I pulled out another can of aerosol and began burning.

The flame touched the nearest shadow, and it began twitching.

"They're called Dancing Hands! They're resistant to elemental attacks!"

Well, at least it wasn't immune. Still, if fire and all that wasn't great, then getting up close seemed like a better strategy. "Junpei, Yukari, cover me!" I ran straight forwards.

Hermes appeared to launch a barrage of fire, while Yukari notched an arrow. The shadows proved surprisingly agile and dodged the arrow, before tanking the fireblast and in unison directing a blast of cold wind straight at me.

I froze. The cold was reminding me of that evening. I shivered and almost froze completely.

_For the love of… Minato, just get on with it?_

Okay. This was so much… less bad than getting executed. I can do this. I slowly took another step.

"Arisato, remember this was your call to fight now. If this call proved to be wrong, I may have to execute you again."

Oh god no. More out of panic than anything else, I burst into running, aiming directly for the shadows. I crashed straight into one. Both of us fell to the ground.

It took me a good five seconds to get back to my feet, but when I did so the shadow was still on the ground. There was a distinct me-shaped cavity in the shadow's palm, where I'd ran into it. Huh. The other two were just hovering there, seemingly unsure of what to do.

"They're weak to blunt force trauma! Strike now!"

…Hey, my fists were blunt, right?

The end of that fight was somewhat anticlimactic.

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted us when we returned to the lobby.

"Um, sempai… what's that machine?" There was what looked to be an old brown radio in front of Mitsuru.

"This? It's a special monitoring machine, from the lab. I had Akihiko bring it in while you were in Tartarus. It simply gives us a visual feed on your actions instead of only audio." She tapped some buttons, and an image appeared. It looked like what I would have seen, had I been standing where Yukari was. "I had the necessary cameras installed in your earpieces."

"Yeah. Already it's been useful," Akihiko smirked. "I now know Minato punches like an ass."

I rolled my eyes. "Really. Like you can do better, cripple."

He laughed. "I'm willing to take you on right now, just to show how much you need to improve. My right arm's my weak one, but you're still going down."

"Oh, you're on."

I growled and charged, and was immediately on the floor. Akihiko had taken me out with a single punch.

Okay, maybe he had a point.

I groggily got back to my feet. "Urgh. How did you learn to punch like that?"

He shrugged. "I'm not the captain of the boxing team for nothing."

Captain? Urgh. No wonder my face felt like it'd imploded.

Akihiko continued. "I admire your attitude, though. Tell you what. When this arm finally fixes, meet me in the school gym. You could do with getting stronger."

I briefly paused. At the very least, strength would be useful in Tartarus. Also, if I ever got in a fight without my flamethrower, good fistfighting skills might just save my life.

I stuck out my hand. "I'm in." He took it.

_**Crack.**_

_**Thou art I… and I am thou…**_

The card had an imposing figure in a crown and cape, and was numbered _IV_.

_**Thou shalt have my blessing when creating a Persona of the Emperor Arcana…**_

* * *

A/N: Several things. First, as you probably noticed, there are now chapter titles. What do you think?

Second, I edited Chapter 6. I thought about some future plot arcs I wanted to develop, and I realised they made more sense if something important in that chapter happened later on (I won't mention what it was, to avoid potential spoilers for new readers). Hence the edit. I promise that it will still happen – it was one of my first ideas – it will just happen later.

Finally, to briefly respond to reviews:

Blarg7865: Yes. Technically, the Pied Piper doesn't blow up on him, but he will eventually get useful Personas. It will take a while, though.

Nunas The No Name: Sort of (I'm guessing you're referring to Lyra). I don't want to give too much away (I'll say that things are probably more convoluted than you thought), but thanks for the support.

As always, feel free to leave comments or suggestions.


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